Bacteria in the mouth can latch onto the Aids virus and prevent it from infecting cells - which could help protect infants from catching the deadly virus from their mothers, researchers reported today.
Two strains of Lactobacillus bacteria can hook onto HIV and stop it from getting into cells. The bacteria also cause immune cells to clump, which could be used to stop HIV-infected cells from infecting other cells, the researchers told a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans.
"While studies have been done so far only in the laboratory, we believe this work opens up new possibilities for preventing the transmission of HIV through mothers' milk," said Lin Tao, associate professor of oral biology in the University of Illinois at Chicago's College of Dentistry.
"Unlike standard retroviral drugs, which are too toxic for newborns, lactobacilli are 'friendly' bacteria already inhabiting the human digestive tract and milk products, and so should pose no danger to infants."
Many babies born free of HIV are infected by breast feeding - an estimated 25 per cent in some areas. Up to 800,000 babies are infected each year globally.