"Please refrain from breastfeeding just in case of a mother with corona infection" Wakayama Prefecture to notify at 6:36 on July 10th
This April, when Wakayama Prefecture examined the breast milk of a mother infected with the new coronavirus by PCR, it was found to be positive. If the mother becomes infected, the prefecture will notify hospitals and other hospitals in the prefecture nearby in order to refrain from breast-feeding the child just in case.
According to Wakayama Prefecture, this April, when a mother in her 20s was hospitalized for the new coronavirus, she was asked if she could breastfeed her child, and a PCR test on her breast milk gave a positive result. It means that
The mother had mastitis, which was negative when she was tested for breast milk again two days later. The family, including the child of this mother, was also confirmed to be infected, but it is not known if the child was infected from breast milk.
Based on the results of this study, the prefecture says that breast milk may contain a virus if it has mastitis, but it is possible that the virus was mixed when the breast milk was taken for inspection.
For this reason, the prefecture will notify hospitals and other nearby hospitals in the near future to refrain from breastfeeding children until a doctor determines that there is no problem if an infection is found.
Expert “Focus on future research findings”
Kazuhiro Tateda, Chairman of the Japanese Society for Infectious Diseases and Professor, Toho University said, "Even if the breast milk was positive by PCR, we could not determine whether it contained an infectious virus. It is not known whether it will be infected or not. In this case, there is a possibility that the virus was mixed in when breastfeeding, so it should be taken calmly. It is no problem to continue breastfeeding from an infected mother as usual. However, it is necessary to pay close attention to future research and knowledge.”
WHO recommends breast milk even if mother is infected
Regarding breast milk, the WHO = World Health Organization document released in June reported that there were cases of positive breast milk by PCR test, but there is insufficient data to conclude that infants are infected from breast milk I am. On top of that, breastfeeding is a great health and growth benefit for infants, and we encourage them to continue breastfeeding when their mother is infected.