Coronavirus: Could breast milk help treat COVID-19?

DAYTON, Ohio — As researchers learn more about COVID-19, they are now looking into whether breast milk contains antibodies to help those fighting the illness.

The new treatments for COVID-19 are continuously being explored, and with breast milk’s high level of antibodies, researchers are working to find out if this could help COVID-19 patients in the future.

Dr. Thomas Huth, VP of Medical Affairs at Reid Health said, “Breast milk is good for babies for a lot of reasons, but one is that it contains immunoglobulins to various viruses.”

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Those immunoglobins include IGA, IGM and IGG. When a woman has COVID-19, they producer the IGA antibodies and can pass them onto their baby if they are breast feeding without passing on the virus itself.

“There is some evidence that there may be other general immune active compounds that can also help protect from COVID-19. They’re not as strong as the IGA that is specifically formed when a mother has had COVID-19 but there is some protection,” Huth said.

Now, researchers are working to find out if they can distribute that same type of immunity to adults.

Huth said, “How do you get enough breast milk to be able to extract immunoglobins to distribute to adults who are sick from COVID-19?”

According to Huth, while it may make sense to study how the antibodies in breast milk can help adults the same way it helps babies, it may not be the best course of action for people who are currently fighting COVID-19.

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“I suppose theoretically you could use the breastmilk to extract the IGG and IGM but there’s not very much of it so it wouldn’t be a very rich source,” Huth said,

Huth said in the breast milk, that antibodies are activated when a baby drinks it so the GI tract is exposed. So, it may not work if it’s places in an IV and given to an adult.

However, the current antibody cocktails and convalescent plasma being used to treat COVID-19 do work in the body when given through an IV.

Huth said, “There are other types of immunoglobins that are more active when given in an IV form, and that’s the basis of the antibodies we give.”

The studies of breast milk and COVID-19 are still in the very early stages and are not currently being distributed to adults.

Cox Media Group