By Bjorn Falck Madsen

FREDENSBORG (Reuters Health) - A new Danish invention could mean a major breakthrough in the fight against HIV infections in third world countries.

Pasteurizing HIV-infected breast milk at 60 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes using a solar-powered device effectively inactivates HIV as well as disease-causing bacteria, not only providing health benefits but also reducing healthcare costs substantially.

The nursing mother is able to operate the breast milk pasteurizer herself, and the annual cost per child is approximately $100, Dr. Anders Fjendbo Jorgensen of Kolding Hospital in Denmark, told Reuters Health in an interview.

Compared with the price of providing an HIV-infected nursing mother with antiretroviral medication, a cost that adds up to $3,000 to $6,000 for half a year, the pasteurizing device is a considerably more manageable and cost effective solution, he pointed out.

An alternative to breast-feeding by an HIV-infected mother would be using cow's milk or formula, but cow's milk is not easily available and formula has been shown to increase child mortality because it lacks important antibodies that protect against infectious diseases, Fjendbo Jorgensen noted.

With solar pasteurization of breast milk, antibodies in the breast milk are preserved so that the health advantages of breast-feeding are maintained, he said.

``We hope that the breast milk device will soon get introduced in countries where breast milk from a mother is used to feed others' children, Fjendbo Jorgensen said. ``This includes hospitals in Africa, South America, and the Far East.''

``Also, it would be easy to instruct women on how to use the solar-powered device at home. Considering the health benefits of using this pasteurizing technique, it would could mean a lot in terms of improved public health and lower healthcare expenditure,'' the Danish physician explained.

Fjendbo Jorgensen, who is a specialist in tropical and infectious diseases and has been working for The National AIDS Control Programme in Tanzania for 3 years, is currently in charge of a group of researchers in Denmark and Tanzania involved in the use of solar energy for health purposes. He points to the fact that the pasteurizing device not only inactivates HIV in breast milk, but can also be used to decontaminate water.

``At the moment, about 120 women in the Muhimbili Medical Centre in Dar es Salaam are (expressing) breast milk and pasteurizing it for their own children or children that belong to others, mainly premature babies in incubators, children with cleft palate, or similar disadvantages. However, we still need to find out how easy it is for individuals to handle this task in their own home,'' Fjendbo Jorgensen commented.

He noted that the pharmaceutical industry has not been supportive in promoting the pasteurizing concept, a low-tech source of prevention, which, on a long-term basis, would reduce the need for medical drugs to manage AIDS.

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