False nipples prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV

A type of pacifier can help nursing mothers reduce their risk of passing HIV to their babies through breast milk, and give antiviral drugs to their babies through breastfeeding.

Based on the type of pacifier commonly used by mothers when having difficulties in breastfeeding, a small group of engineers has changed slightly to help this device become a device to reduce mother-to-child HIV transmission. through breastfeeding.

The nipple consists of a removable part. This part is soaked with a microbicide to inactivate the HIV virus. The drug is sucked out when the baby is breastfed.

Breastfeeding increases the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The World Health Organization has just changed its recommendation, asserting that babies born to HIV-positive mothers can be both breastfed and take antiviral drugs, except in cases to ensure their safety. I sucked milk outside.

Each year, about 400,000 children globally are infected with HIV, and nearly half of them are infected by their mothers. The risk of viral infection increases significantly when mothers carry HIV to breastfeed.

The only way to eliminate this risk is to not breastfeed, but external dairy products are often not really safe, very expensive, especially for developing countries. Children who eat milk outside are more vulnerable to malnutrition, diarrhea and other infectious diseases, especially in countries near the Sahara, where more than 90% of mothers are infected.

JustMilk pacifier development project was started at the 2008 International Development Design Summit. The project received a lot of interest, including USD 100,000 funded by the billionaire couple's charity Bill Gates.

However, researcher Stephen Gerrard of Cambridge University (UK) said that it is necessary to study more carefully about dummies."We have to prove that when mothers use this device, the amount of breast milk the baby does not change , " Gerrard said.

Mr Gerrad said tests to prove this will be carried out next year.

According to expert Andrew Tomkins at the Children's Health Institute in London, the requirement for a pacifier is to ensure that the dose is appropriate for young children.