Umthombo 4 - Magazine - Page 4

Benefits of breastfeeding
can last a lifetime

Mothers can transfer lifelong protection against infection
to their infants by breastfeeding, says a new study by
an international team of scientists led by researchers
at the University of Cape Town (UCT). The researchers
found that infant mice breastfed by a mother who had a
worm infection before getting pregnant acquired lifelong
protection against this ailment.
Scientists previously thought that immunity against
illness was passed from mothers to infants only during
the time they are breastfed and ended when
breastfeeding stops.
“The work shows that exposure to an infection before
pregnancy can lead to a mother transferring long-term
immune benefits to her offspring,” said lead author, Dr
William Horsnell of UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease
and Molecular Medicine and the Division of Immunology.
“This is remarkable and adds a new dimension to our
understanding of how a mother can influence our health.”

Rat poison threatens
peri-urban wildlife

Urban rat poisons are
spilling over into the
natural environment around
Cape Town, South Africa,
and threatening wildlife,
according to a team of
University of Cape Town
(UCT) researchers in the
Institute for Communities
and Wildlife in Africa.
By measuring the
presence and concentration
of rat poison in liver and
blood samples from 41
animals, they identified six
2
predators at risk: caracal,
Cape clawless otter,
Cape eagle owl, large
spotted genet (pictured),
honey badger and water
mongoose. Others are
likely affected as well.
The predators aren’t
eating the poisons directly,
though. The poisons are
designed to work slowly in
their target species, rats,
which become sick over
days and end up as easy
prey for predators.

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