ArticleThe Journal of infectious diseases2015
Breast Milk as a Potential Source of Epstein-Barr Virus Transmission Among Infants Living in a Malaria-Endemic Region of Kenya.
Article in The Journal of infectious diseases, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and Safety of Antivirals in Lactating Women with Herpesviridae Infections: A Systematic Review.Viruses · 2025Pooled it
- Increased Epstein-Barr virus in breast milk occurs with subclinical mastitis and HIV shedding.Medicine · 2016Trial
- Virucidal Efficacy of Holder Pasteurization of Breast Milk in a Portable Device.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Review
- IgA nephropathy-associated breast milk B cell alterations.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) serology and its impact on oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection outcomes in children during early childhood.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Model Systems of Gammaherpesvirus Infection, Immunity, and Disease.Journal of medical virology · 2025Review
- HIV-associated cancers and lymphoproliferative disorders caused by Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus and Epstein-Barr virus.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- Association between Epstein-Barr virus reactivation and severe malaria in pregnant women living in a malaria-endemic region of Cameroon.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Viruses and Human Milk: Transmission or Protection?Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2023Review
- Hemoglobinopathies, merozoite surface protein-2 gene polymorphisms, and acquisition of Epstein Barr virus among infants in Western Kenya.BMC cancer · 2023Article
- Molecular Pathogenesis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Associated Disease of Oropharyngeal Mucosal Epithelium.Biomedicines · 2023Review
- IgA Nephropathy: Pleiotropic impact of Epstein-Barr virus infection on immunopathogenesis and racial incidence of the disease.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Review
- HIV-exposed infants with EBV infection have a reduced persistence of the immune response to the HBV vaccine.AIDS research and therapy · 2021Article
- Revisiting Koch's postulate to determine the plausibility of viral transmission by human milk.Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology · 2021Article
- Maternal HIV Infection as a Risk Factor for Primary Epstein-Barr Virus Infection in Kenyan Infants.Frontiers in oncology · 2021Article
- Role of Epstein-Barr Virus in Pathogenesis and Racial Distribution of IgA Nephropathy.Frontiers in immunology · 2020Article
- Lower CMV and EBV Exposure in Children With Kawasaki Disease Suggests an Under-Challenged Immune System.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2020Article
- Multidimensional analysis of Gammaherpesvirus RNA expression reveals unexpected heterogeneity of gene expression.PLoS pathogens · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWe previously reported that infants in Kenya were infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) at <6 months of age, suggesting that mothers were the likely source of transmissible virus to the infant. In this study, we investigated whether breast milk contained infectious EBV and the role of malaria in EBV shedding in breast milk.
methodsBreast milk samples were obtained from Kenyan mothers at postpartum weeks 6, 10, 14, and 18 and analyzed for presence of infectious EBV.
resultsWe found that the prevalence of EBV DNA and the mean EBV load were significantly higher at 6 weeks and decreased through postpartum week 18 (P < .0001). High EBV load in breast milk correlated with mothers who had Plasmodium falciparum malaria at delivery. To determine whether viral DNA was encapsidated, breast milk samples were treated with DNAse before DNA extraction. Sixty percent of samples were DNAse resistant, suggesting that the viral DNA in breast milk was encapsidated. Next, we exposed peripheral blood mononuclear cells to breast milk supernatant, which resulted in the generation of EBV-positive lymphoblastoid cell lines, indicating that the virus in breast milk was infectious.
conclusionsOur data suggest that breast milk contains infectious EBV and is a potential source of viral transmission to infants living in malaria-endemic regions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.