Humoral defence factors in the breast milk of Ethiopian women with leprosy and healthy controls.

Secretory IgA, lactoferrin, albumin, and total protein were quantitated in colostrum and milk samples obtained from 215 Ethiopian nursing mothers over a period ranging from 1 day to 2 yr postparturition. IgG, IgM, C3, and C4 complement components were quantitated in 11 day 1 samples. The subjects were classified into three groups: lepromatous leprosy, borderline lepromatous leprosy, and a nonlepromatous group consisting of women with tuberculoid leprosy and healthy controls. Results obtained from the above groups were also compared with a group from Edinburgh. No major variation in levels of secretory IgA, lactoferrin, albumin, and total protein was found between the three groups of Ethiopian women. Results from the Edinburgh group were significantly higher, mainly in the level of total protein. When the individual proteins were expressed as a percentage of the total protein, there was no difference between the milk samples from the Ethiopian and Edinburgh mothers.