The effects of infant feeding on rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis: a prospective study.

TLDR

A prospective cohort of 197 low‑income infants was followed during the 1983‑84 winter diarrhea season, with systematic fecal sampling tested for rotavirus by electron microscopy and ELISA. Although rotavirus attack rates were similar for breast‑fed and bottle‑fed infants, breast‑fed infants experienced milder, shorter‑duration illness, with 90 % mild cases versus 36 % in bottle‑fed infants, indicating breast‑feeding moderates disease severity.

Abstract

The relationship between feeding method and risk of rotavirus infection was studied by following a cohort of 197 infants from low income households through the winter diarrhea season of 1983-84. Fecal specimens were systematically collected and tested for the presence of rotavirus particles by electron microscopy, confirmed by ELISA. The attack rates of rotavirus gastroenteritis were similar for breast-fed and bottle-fed infants (20 per cent, 17 per cent, respectively); however, the clinical course of rotavirus gastroenteritis was quite different. Infants who were breast-fed had illnesses which were characterized by milder symptoms of shorter duration. Of the 10 breast-fed infants who acquired rotavirus gastroenteritis, nine (90 per cent) were classified as mild illnesses while of the 25 bottle-fed infants who acquired rotavirus gastroenteritis, only nine (36 per cent) were classified as having mild illnesses. These data suggest that factors associated with breast-feeding, although not affecting rotavirus infection rates, may moderate the clinical course of rotavirus gastroenteritis.