Because it's possible for infected women to pass HIV to their infants through breast-feeding, they are typically urged to feed their babies formula instead. But in poor nations many women cannot afford bottled formula, leaving them with no other option but to put their child at risk through breast milk.
But researchers at the University of California, Davis may have come up with a cost-effective solution: pasteurizing breast milk through a flash-boiling process that kills all viruses and bacteria. The breast milk is essentially heated through double boiling.
'As soon as the water boils, the milk has reached a hot enough temperature -- about 70 degrees Celsius -- to kill all of the HIV but maintain most of the integrity of the nutrients and the immunological properties,' lead researcher Sera Young told VOA News.
