DETECTION OF HUMAN-HERPESVIRUS-7 (HHV-7) DNA IN BREAST-MILK BY POLYMERASE-CHAIN-REACTION AND PREVALENCE OF HHV-7 ANTIBODY IN BREAST-FED ANDBOTTLE-FED CHILDREN

Twenty-nine breast milk mononuclear cell samples were analyzed for hum an herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) DNA, human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) DNA, and hum an cytomegalovirus (HCMV) DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In a ddition, peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples from 13 puerperants were analyzed for HHV-7 DNA by PCR, and seropositivity of HHV-7 was a lso analyzed in breast-fed and bottle-fed children. HHV-7 DNA was dete cted in 3 of 29 breast milk samples. HCMV DNA was also detected in 3 o f 29 breast milk samples, but HHV-6 DNA was not detected. HHV-7 DNA wa s detected in 11 of 13 samples of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Though the seropositivity rate for HHV-7 in breast-fed children was sl ightly higher than that in bottle-fed children at 18 and 24 months old , the difference was not statistically significant. From these results , we speculate that breast-feeding may be one of the transmission rout es of HHV-7, although this is not the main route. J. Med. Virol. 56:27 5-279, 1998. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.