Fifty infants less than 1 year of age with rotavirus gastroenteritis were studied with regard to the protective effect of breast-feeding. The initial incidence of breast-feeding was 64% in the patients infected with rotavirus and 70% in a matched control population. Seven patients were breast-fed at the time of infection, 25 patients had stopped breast-feeding prior to infection, and 18 patients were exclusively formula-fed. There were no significant differences between groups in the average age of infection, mean duration of diarrhea, mean number of bowel movements in 24 hours, or in the frequency of fever or irritability. The only apparent difference between groups was that the frequency of vomiting was significantly decreased in the breast-fed children. The results of this study suggest that breast-feeding offers little protection against rotavirus gastroenteritis.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.