New project to investigate how antibodies in breastmilk can protect babies from COVID-19

An investigation into how antibodies in breastmilk can protect babies and young children from COVID-19 will be the focus of a new project by The University of Western Australia, funded by the State Government to tackle health challenges associated with the virus.

The findings will inform breastfeeding recommendations for best infant care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research team, from UWA’s School of Molecular Sciences, was awarded $223,000 through the Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) Fund Focus Grant Program to investigate the activity of antibodies in protecting children from COVID-19 in the world’s largest, long-term human milk study.

Lead researcher, Professor Valérie Verhasselt, Larssen-Rosenquist Chair in Human Lactology at UWA, said with human milk recommended as the sole source of infant nutrition, it was important to understand whether it could protect infants from COVID-19 and how.

While we are currently 99.99 per cent sure we can say that a child cannot get COVID-19 through breast milk, there is still much research to be done to reveal the capability of human milk to prevent COVID-19 infections."

Professor Valérie Verhasselt, Lead researcher, Larssen-Rosenquist Chair in Human Lactology at UWA

The team will analyse 500 milk samples from 25 COVID-19 infected and 25 non-infected mothers collected at 10 time points from delivery.

Using this unique resource, they aim to further establish the protective properties of human milk against the COVID-19 infection.

Importantly, they will address current gaps in knowledge, including how maternal COVID-19 infection influences the protective effect of breastmilk and how important maternal antibodies are to protect the child from infection.

Professor Verhasselt said that filling these gaps of knowledge was essential to providing the scientific evidence needed for appropriate breastfeeding guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said the study would also reveal the importance of prolonged breastfeeding to prevent infection and disease in children as well as to prevent community transmission by asymptomatic children.

We expect this knowledge will be critical to inform vaccination strategies, including the need to vaccinate lactating mothers for the best approach to prevent COVID-19 in children. It may also lead to the development of new therapeutics, such as milk-derived antibodies, to prevent severe disease in at-risk populations.”

Professor Valérie Verhasselt

The research was established in collaboration with Dr Juan M Rodriguez, Complutense University of Madrid, who provided access to the long-term milk cohort and Dr Allison Imrie, UWA, to address the virus neutralizing properties of human milk antibodies.