The breast milk of women who have had a Covid-19 infection contains antibodies against the coronavirus. This has emerged from research by the Emma Children’s Hospital of Amsterdam UMC, in collaboration with other institutes. Researchers are now going to see whether the milk can be used to prevent corona infections, for example in vulnerable groups such as the elderly, during a possible second wave.
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The antibodies are still present after heating the milk (pasteurization). This is important because breast milk cannot be used by other people until after pasteurization. It remains to be seen whether breast milk is indeed effective as a preventive treatment method against the corona virus. Then the breast milk may be used for risk groups.
“We think that after drinking the milk, the antibodies attach themselves to the surface of our mucous membranes. There they attack the virus particles before they enter the body ”, says Hans van Goudoever, head of the Emma Children’s Hospital. Emma Children’s Hospital starts a campaign to recruit a thousand women who want to donate breast milk. These women are asked to pump 100 milliliters for the Breastmilk Bank.
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