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pubmed:otherAbstract |
PIP: The protective role of breastfeeding against Giardia lamblia, a protozoan parasite endemic in Central Africa, was assessed through an analysis of stool samples from 400 infants aged 1 week-24 months in Libreville. Stool samples were collected during both the rainy and dry seasons in 1985 and 1986. At the time of stool collection, 237 infants were breastfed and 163 were bottle-fed (the mean weaning age among the 123 infants in the latter group who had at 1 point been breastfed was 8.2 months). The percentage of infants infected with cysts or trophozoites of Giardia was 1.2% in the exclusively breastfed group, 1.32% among infants who were partially breastfed (at least 2 feedings/day) and 14.7% in the bottle-fed group. The same pattern persisted when the data were grouped by age. In the 0-5 month age group, Giardia infection was found in 2.2% of the breastfed infants compared with 9.1% of the bottle-fed infants. In the 6-11 month age group, these percentages were 0 and 11.4%, respectively, while they were 2.2% and 17.6%, respectively, in the 12-23-month age group. There were no significant differences in the rate of giardiasis infection in the mothers of breastfed, partially breastfed, and bottle-fed infants in this study. These findings confirm an in vivo protective effect of human milk in Giardia infection. Of concern is the declining rate of breastfeeding in African cities, which can be expected to contribute to raising the rates of early symptomatic giardiasis and consequently the risk of malnutrition.
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