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Diagnostic methods for mastitis in cows are not appropriate for use in humans : Commentary

Kvist, Linda J. LU (2016) In International Breastfeeding Journal 11(1).
Abstract

Healthcare workers are now being targeted for marketing of diagnostic tools for mastitis that were developed for the dairy industry and which aim to provide information regarding choice of antibiotic treatment. Meanwhile, scientists are striving to understand how the human microbiome affects health and wellbeing and the importance of maintenance of bacterial balance in the human body. Breast milk supplies a multitude of bacteria to populate the baby's intestinal tract and kick-start the immune system. Researchers propose a paradigm shift in the understanding of bacterial content in breast milk and an alternative paradigm for the understanding of lactational mastitis: there is the beginning of evidence that many cases of lactational... (More)

Healthcare workers are now being targeted for marketing of diagnostic tools for mastitis that were developed for the dairy industry and which aim to provide information regarding choice of antibiotic treatment. Meanwhile, scientists are striving to understand how the human microbiome affects health and wellbeing and the importance of maintenance of bacterial balance in the human body. Breast milk supplies a multitude of bacteria to populate the baby's intestinal tract and kick-start the immune system. Researchers propose a paradigm shift in the understanding of bacterial content in breast milk and an alternative paradigm for the understanding of lactational mastitis: there is the beginning of evidence that many cases of lactational mastitis will resolve spontaneously. An international group of researchers is attempting to answer how dietary habits, birth mode, genetics and environmental factors may impact the bacterial content of breast milk. Until we have more comprehensive knowledge about the human milk microbiome, diagnostic aids for identification of women in need of antibiotic therapy for mastitis remain unreliable. Diagnostic aids could lead to the injudicious use of antibiotic therapy, which in turn may rob the infant of bacteria valuable for development of its immune system. The marketing of diagnostic aids for use in human medicine, that were originally developed for use in cows, is neither evidence-based nor good ethical practice.

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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Breast milk, Immune system, Lactational mastitis, Microbiome, QPCR diagnostic tests
in
International Breastfeeding Journal
volume
11
issue
1
article number
2
publisher
BioMed Central (BMC)
external identifiers
  • pmid:26877759
  • wos:000370019900001
  • pmid:26877759
  • scopus:85028274953
ISSN
1746-4358
DOI
10.1186/s13006-016-0061-1
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
33dc344e-e56e-4c5d-b04b-c379155dafd1 (old id 8825471)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 09:36:19
date last changed
2022-03-23 06:19:46
@misc{33dc344e-e56e-4c5d-b04b-c379155dafd1,
  abstract     = {{<p>Healthcare workers are now being targeted for marketing of diagnostic tools for mastitis that were developed for the dairy industry and which aim to provide information regarding choice of antibiotic treatment. Meanwhile, scientists are striving to understand how the human microbiome affects health and wellbeing and the importance of maintenance of bacterial balance in the human body. Breast milk supplies a multitude of bacteria to populate the baby's intestinal tract and kick-start the immune system. Researchers propose a paradigm shift in the understanding of bacterial content in breast milk and an alternative paradigm for the understanding of lactational mastitis: there is the beginning of evidence that many cases of lactational mastitis will resolve spontaneously. An international group of researchers is attempting to answer how dietary habits, birth mode, genetics and environmental factors may impact the bacterial content of breast milk. Until we have more comprehensive knowledge about the human milk microbiome, diagnostic aids for identification of women in need of antibiotic therapy for mastitis remain unreliable. Diagnostic aids could lead to the injudicious use of antibiotic therapy, which in turn may rob the infant of bacteria valuable for development of its immune system. The marketing of diagnostic aids for use in human medicine, that were originally developed for use in cows, is neither evidence-based nor good ethical practice.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kvist, Linda J.}},
  issn         = {{1746-4358}},
  keywords     = {{Breast milk; Immune system; Lactational mastitis; Microbiome; QPCR diagnostic tests}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
  series       = {{International Breastfeeding Journal}},
  title        = {{Diagnostic methods for mastitis in cows are not appropriate for use in humans : Commentary}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/5368648/8831768}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s13006-016-0061-1}},
  volume       = {{11}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}