Korean J Parasitol.  2013 Oct;51(5):519-524.

Breast-Feeding Protects Infantile Diarrhea Caused by Intestinal Protozoan Infections

• Abdel-Hafeez EH
• Belal US
• Abdellatif MZM
• Naoi K
• Norose K

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of breast-feeding in protection against protozoan infection in infants with persistent diarrhea. Infants were classified into 2 groups; 161 breast-fed infants and the same number of non-breast-fed infants. Microscopic examinations of stool were done for detection of parasites and measuring the intensity of infection. Moreover, serum levels of IgE and TNF-alpha were measured by ELISA. Cryptosporidium spp., Entamoeba histolytica/Entamoeba dispar, Giardia lamblia, and Blastocystis sp. were demonstrated in infants with persistent diarrhea. The percentage of protozoan infections was significantly lower in breast-fed infants than that in the non-breast-fed infants. The levels of IgE and TNF-alpha were significantly lower in the breast-fed group than in the non-breast-fed group. There were significant positive associations between the serum levels of IgE and TNF-alpha and the intensity of parasite infection in the breast-fed group. It is suggested that breast-feeding has an attenuating effect on the rate and intensity of parasite infection.

Keyword

Entamoeba histolytica; Entamoeba dispar; Giardia lamblia; Cryptosporidium; Blastocystis; breast-feeding; breast milk; diarrhea; intestinal protozoa; IgE; TNF-alpha

MeSH Terms

Antigens, Protozoan/analysis/*immunology
Diarrhea, Infantile/*diagnosis/parasitology
Entamoeba
Entamoeba histolytica/*isolation & purification
Entamoebiasis/*diagnosis/parasitology
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Feces/parasitology
Female
Giardia lamblia
Giardiasis/*diagnosis/parasitology
Humans
Infant
Intestines/parasitology
Protozoan Infections/*diagnosis/parasitology
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism
Antigens, Protozoan
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha