The effects of infant feeding on rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis: a prospective study.

The relationship between feeding method and risk of rotavirus infection was studied by following a cohort of 197 infants from low income households through the winter diarrhea season of 1983-84. Fecal specimens were systematically collected and tested for the presence of rotavirus particles by electron microscopy, confirmed by ELISA. The attack rates of rotavirus gastroenteritis were similar for breast-fed and bottle-fed infants (20 per cent, 17 per cent, respectively); however, the clinical course of rotavirus gastroenteritis was quite different. Infants who were breast-fed had illnesses which were characterized by milder symptoms of shorter duration. Of the 10 breast-fed infants who acquired rotavirus gastroenteritis, nine (90 per cent) were classified as mild illnesses while of the 25 bottle-fed infants who acquired rotavirus gastroenteritis, only nine (36 per cent) were classified as having mild illnesses. These data suggest that factors associated with breast-feeding, although not affecting rotavirus infection rates, may moderate the clinical course of rotavirus gastroenteritis.