Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo 45(1):41-42, January-February, 2003
TECHNICAL REPORT MICROWAVE TREATMENT OF HUMAN MILK TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION OF CHAGAS DISEASE
Cludio SANTOS FERREIRA(1), Vicente AMATO NETO(1), Erika GAKIYA(1), Rita Cristina BEZERRA(1) & Ruth Semira RODRGUEZ ALARCN(1)
SUMMARY It is recognized that breast feeding is an alternative means of transmission of Chagas disease. However, thermal treatment of milk can prevent this occurrence. As domestic microwave ovens are becoming commonplace, the efficacy of microwave thermal treatment in inactivating Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes in human milk was tested. Human milk samples infected with T. cruzi trypomastigotes (Y strain) from laboratory-infected mice, were heated to 63 C in a domestic microwave oven (MHz, 700 W). Microscopical and serological examinations demonstrated that none of the animals inoculated orally or intraperitoneally with infected milk which had been treated, got the infection, while those inoculated with untreated, infected milk, became infected. It was concluded that the simple treatment prescribed, which can easily be done at home, was effective in inactivating T. cruzi trypomastigotes contained in human milk. KEYWORDS: Trypanosoma cruzi; Microwave thermal treatment.
On the basis of observational and experimental investigation, it has been pointed out that there is little likelihood of Trypanosoma cruzi infection being transmitted through breastfeeding. Yet, in view of the serious clinical and epidemiological consequences of Chagas disease, this alternative means of transmission has been a matter of considerable concern,2.Pasteurization, the well-known process for inactivating most pathogens found in milk, is demonstrably effective against T. cruzi2. However, this technique can be time-consuming and pose many problems to those trying to do it at home. Microwaves have been currently used with increasing frequency for the pasteurization and sterilization of foodstuffs. The availability of microwave ovens in most households3 suggests the use of such domestic appliances as a simple and rapid way to produce the thermal effect upon which pasteurization is based. An experiment was set up, along the same lines as a previous one2, to evaluate the efficacy of microwave treatment of human milk in inactivating T. cruzi trypomastigotes. A model MS-74ML LG (700 W; 2,450 MHz) microwave oven was used. Five 10-mL aliquots from a 50-mL sample of human milk, from a healthy donor, were distributed among test tubes numbered 1 to 5. This sample had been previously kept at the temperature of -18 C. To tubes 1 to 4, respectively 2 500, 5 000, 10 000, and T. cruzi, trypomastigotes (Y strain) per mL, from laboratory-infected BALB/c mice, were added. No infecting material was added to tube 5. Tubes 1 to
3 were put into a beaker filled with water to the 500 mL mark. The beaker with its contents was put into the oven, the time set for seven minutes and the power to 40%. The temperature of the contents of the tubes, measured after the end of the process with a mercury thermometer, was 63 C. The immersion of the tubes in water and the protracted duration of the treatment aim at improving the uniformity of heating, an important factor in the process. The tubes were then cooled in a refrigerator. No thermal treatment was applied to samples 4 and 5 (no infecting material had been added to sample 5). Ten batches of mice were supplied by the Laboratory Animal Facility Center, Faculty of Medicine of the University of So Paulo. They were marked A to J: batches A to H, composed of ten mice; I and J, of five mice each. Infected and noninfected milk samples were administered (orally and intraperitoneally) to the animals, as described in Table 1. Starting from the fifth day of administration, fresh samples of peripheral blood taken from each mouse were examined (400 magnification) at 3day intervals during 60 days. After that period, further blood samples were taken for serological (ELISA) tests. All animals which had received thermally treated, either infected or uninfected milk, had negative parasitological and serological test results. On the other hand, the animals which received infected, non-treated milk, had both tests positive. It was concluded that microwave treatment of human milk, done as described, is effective in inactivating suspended T. cruzi trypomastigotes.
(1) Laboratrio de Investigao Mdica, Parasitologia, LIM/46, da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de So Paulo, SP, Brasil. Correspondence to: Cludio S. Ferreira, Laboratrio de Investigao Mdica, Parasitologia, LIM/46, Av. Dr. Enas de Carvalho Aguiar 500, 05403-000 So Paulo, SP, Brasil. Phone: 55.11.3066-7042. Fax: 55.11.3062-3622.