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Updated: Jul 28, 2026

Isolation of Leukocytes from Human Breast Milk for Use in an Antibody-dependent Cellular Phagocytosis Assay of HIV Targets
08:12

Isolation of Leukocytes from Human Breast Milk for Use in an Antibody-dependent Cellular Phagocytosis Assay of HIV Targets

Published on: September 6, 2019

The neonate's immunity gap, breast feeding and cot death

M Gunther

    Lancet (London, England)
    |February 22, 1975
    PubMed

    In many mammals infant behaviour imposes a period during which the young will only take the mother's milk. It is suggested that the immunological components of the milk serve in this period to augment the baby's immune system while he traverses from the antigenic isolation of a fetus to his independent defence. In humans almost all cot deaths occur during this phase. Diverse statistics relating to factors associated with greater risk of cot death are drawn on, suggesting that a number of seemingly unconnected factors can all (including lack of breast-feeding) be interpreted as potential immunity defaults. This interpretation lends support to the idea of an immune mechanism underlying cot death which in some way is an abnormal response resulting from the default and which, with at least one other precipitating mechanism, leads to death.

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