ReviewPublic health nutrition2021
The risk of infectious pathogens in breast-feeding, donated human milk and breast milk substitutes.
Review in Public health nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Informal Human Milk Sharing: The Experiences and Practices of Informal Human Milk Sharing in Ireland.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Impact of microbiological testing protocols on discard rates in donor human milk with a focus onFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- A Framework for Evaluation of New Processing Technologies in Human Milk Banking.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2025Review
- Deliberating the scientific evidence base for influenza transmission to raw milk consumers.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2025Review
- Foodborne Infections and Mortality Associated With Expressed Breastmilk, Donated Breastmilk, and Infant Formula in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review of Peer-Reviewed Evidence Cases.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2025Article
- Validation of a Real-Time PCR Assay for Fully Automated Detection ofMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- γ-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Metabolic Bypass Plays a Crucial Role in Stress Tolerance and Biofilm Formation inFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Viral nucleic acid load in the milk of lactating mothers with COVID-19 and the prognosis of infants.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Editorial: If maternal breastfeeding is not possible: exploring safe and sustainable infant feeding options in all contexts.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Article
- Optimized Ultraviolet-C Processing Inactivates Pathogenic and Spoilage-Associated Bacteria while Preserving Bioactive Proteins, Vitamins, and Lipids in Human Milk.Journal of agricultural and food chemistry · 2024Article
- Review
- Comparison of Phenotype and Genotype Virulence and Antimicrobial Factors ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Foodborne pathogens in Africa: UnderstandingPublic health challenges · 2023Review
- Epidemiology of foodborne diseases caused byFrontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Recommendations for breastfeeding during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.International breastfeeding journal · 2022Review
- The legislative framework of donor human milk and human milk banking in Europe.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Article
- Milk Transmission of HTLV-1 and the Need for Innovative Prevention Strategies.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Review
- Article
- The Effects of Thermal Pasteurisation, Freeze-Drying, and Gamma-Irradiation on the Antibacterial Properties of Donor Human Milk.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThis review collates the published reports that focus on microbial and viral illnesses that can be transmitted by breast milk, donor milk and powdered infant formula (PIF). In this context, we attempt to define a risk framework encompassing those hazards, exposure scenarios, vulnerability and protective factors.
designA literature search was performed for reported cases of morbidity and mortality associated with different infant feeding modes.
settingExclusive breast-feeding is the recommended for infant feeding under 6 months, or failing that, provision of donated human milk. However, the use of PIF remains high despite its intrinsic and extrinsic risk of microbial contamination, as well as the potential for adverse physiological effects, including infant gut dysbiosis.
resultsViable pathogen transmission via breast-feeding or donor milk (pasteurised and unpasteurised) is rare. However, transmission of HIV and human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1 is a concern for breast-feeding mothers, particularly for mothers undertaking a mixed feeding mode (PIF and breast-feeding). In PIF, intrinsic and extrinsic microbial contamination, such as Cronobacter and Salmonella, remain significant identifiable causes of infant morbidity and mortality.
conclusionsDisease transmission through breast-feeding or donor human milk is rare, most likely owing to its complex intrinsically protective composition of human milk and protection of the infant gut lining. Contamination of PIF and the morbidity associated with this is likely underappreciated in terms of community risk. A better system of safe donor milk sharing that also establishes security of supply for non-hospitalised healthy infants in need of breast milk would reduce the reliance on PIF.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.