Pavel Volchkov, head of the MIPT genome engineering laboratory, told Gazeta.ru that if an adult consumes a woman’s breast milk, it can lead to dangerous viral infections and other dangerous consequences.
A number of viruses can be transmitted through breast milk, the geneticist said – hepatitis B, C, cytomegalovirus, West Nile virus, human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV), HIV. He noted that the influenza virus is also transmitted through milk, but in small quantities.
In addition, women’s milk contains a significant amount of immunoglobulins – antibodies that protect the child from infectious agents transmitted to the mother. It is not known how beneficial it is for an adult to drink breast milk containing products containing immunoglobulin.
To make the milk safe, expensive tests and procedures – antibodies, tests for DNA and RNA of viruses – would be required, which would make its sale unprofitable, the virologist concluded. Breast milk can be boiled, but the activity of antibodies and part of milk proteins is significantly reduced. Therefore, another expensive test would be required to detect the replicated viral particles.
It was learned that earlier in Perm they began to sell coffee on breast milk.
Source: Ferra
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