Beneficial Baby Bacteria
Their Key Benefits, Functions, & Selection
by Natasha Trenev
At the end of a long and healthy pregnancy is a crucial event that prepares the newborn for a healthy life in the real world. During birth, mothers inoculate their newborns with various strains of bacteria that are essential to provide a foundation for the future of the infant’s health. Today, technological and pharmacological advances have made it difficult for newborns to be introduced into this world the way that nature intended it. While doctors and hospitals attempt to provide the most sterile and safe environment for both mother and child, the health of the newborn may be adversely affected by such conditions. Your infant may be inhibited from gaining the vital beneficial bacteria that occurs naturally in your intestinal tract, vagina, mouth, and birth canal. Of the many beneficial bacteria varieties that exist in your body, bifidobacteria are considered the most prevalent and essential beneficial microorganisms to the well being of infants, children and adults. This article will discuss the factors that exist in today’s world that make supplementation of bifidobacteria crucial to your infant’s health.
What are Bifidobacteria?
Bifidobacteria were first described and named by H. Tissier, a French scientist, in 1899 and 1900. Bifid in Latin means "Y" shaped and amply describes the shape Tissier saw. For the next 50 years one of the concerns the scientist had was proving and substantiating the significance of the bifidobacteria in the health of the newborn. It was determined that the numbers of bifidobacteria were fewer in the stools of bottle-fed infants and that, when the infants were weaned, bifidobacteria were found only in small numbers. Scientific interest in this friendly microorganism grew as clinical evidence in Europe showed that breast-fed infants were less susceptible to infections than bottle-fed babies. This led to speculation that bifidobacteria in the large intestine might play a role in the resistance to infection.
Continued investigation led to interest by microbiologists in the nature and classification of this organism. Initially, it was erroneously classified as L. bifidus and this led to confusion with Lactobacillus acidophilus, another important friendly microorganism. However, since 1974, the scientific community has recognized that bifidobacteria warrant their own genus classification. The Bifidobacteria genus has 11 species; two of the most important species are Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium infantis. While both play a major role in human health, B. infantis is the only species of which all known strains are infant specific. In other words, all strains of Bifidobacterium infantis occur naturally as the most prominent beneficial bacteria in infants.
Where are they found?
Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli are normal and resident inhabitants of the human gut. Their occurrence in the intestinal tract occurs in different proportions. Ninety nine percent of the cultivatable flora in the large intestine of breast fed infants is bifidobacteria. Lactobacilli, enterococci and coliforms comprise about one percent (range one to 15 percent) of the flora. Other microorganisms are absent or insignificant.
Babies need Beneficial Bacteria
Nature meant all babies to be delivered normally. However, C-sections are a blessing when they are needed and not abused. Normally delivered babies pass through the birth canal and are bathed with the friendly, protective bacteria such as Bifidobacteria infantis, Bifidobacteria bifidum, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. These beneficial bacteria enter the baby’s intestines through the mouth and feverishly attempt to set up attachment sites on the gastrointestinal wall before other not-so-friendly microorganisms attempt to do the same as the baby enters the real world.
Breast-feeding intensifies the presence of bifidobacteria naturally, thus establishing a microflora comprised of 99% bifidobacteria in the large intestine of a healthy baby nursed by a healthy mother. C-sectioned babies do not receive a healthy portion of these friendly microorganisms. A recent study states that newborns exposed to a highly sterilized environment at birth lack the proper intestinal balance of the intestines for the prevention of disease and allergies (Wold 1998). The overuse or misuse of antibiotics for infants can also lead to an unhealthy condition of the intestines. Medical scientists found that infants and children in underdeveloped countries have less cases of allergic disease than children of developed countries.
While this fact seems odd, the difference correlates to the greater use of antibiotics in developed countries, which disturbs the normal bowel flora of infants (McCann). An unhealthy and unbalanced intestinal flora can manifest itself in the form of allergies and asthma in children. Combining the factors of a C-sectioned birth, feeding the infant cow’s milk rather than breast milk, and overusing antibiotics, a baby has no source of receiving the normal healthy flora that is crucial to optimal health.
In a study of intestinal flora in a rural area of Guatemala, out of 210 babies born in a village, 109 were breast-fed. The breast-fed infants showed high concentrations of bifidobacteria, nearly 100 percent of all bacteria cultured from the breast-fed infants were bifidobacteria. Only four of the breast-fed babies developed Shigella infection, which causes severe diarrhea. The rate of infection for the non breast-fed babies was much higher (Mata 1969).
A double blind, randomized control study in Belgium gave 20 healthy infants a formula supplemented with bifidobacteria during their first two months of life. The results were compared to a standard infant formula as well as a control group of fully breast-fed infants. The infants receiving the probiotic formula had a prevalence of bifidobacteria colonization similar to the breast fed infants but significantly higher than in the group fed the standard infant formula (Langhendries 1995). This evidence shows the importance of supplementing your infant’s formula with bifidobacteria because a standard commercial infant formula is not an adequate replacement for breast-feeding.
Unfortunately, even mothers’ milk may no longer be counted on to nurture adequate levels of Bifidobacterium infantis in an infant’s intestinal tract. Dr. J. Lj. Rasic, the world’s leading researcher and authority on bifidobacteria, suggests supplementing a baby’s diet with B. infantis on a daily basis. The regular ingestion of a large number of viable B. infantis, e.g. one billion or more per day, ensures a continued supply of these friendly bacteria to the intestinal tract. By their "mass effect" and some metabolic activity, these bacteria help indigenous organisms combat harmful bacteria and pathogens.
Why breast feeding is not enough?
Breast-feeding is significantly better than formula; however, certain factors in our polluted environment make breast-feeding alone insufficient for the optimal health of the infant.
In a German scientific paper, it was shown that in the twenty-year period, 1957 to 1977, the number of bifidobacteria has declined in breast-fed infants (Grutte 1980). Certain strains have disappeared altogether. However, the presence of E. coli bacteria has increased along with pathogens, or disease-causing bacteria, such as Klebsiella. Researchers have found strains of E. coli that are resistant to potent and regularly used antibiotics such as neomycin and ceftazidime.
Similarly, at the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, it was found that of 61 breast-fed infants, only 20 percent had significant numbers of bifidobacteria (Poupard 1973). A similar study was conducted at a suburban hospital; two thirds of the 21 breast-fed babies had significant numbers of bifidobacteria. An explanation has not been found, although some unidentified environmental factor is probably responsible for the difference.
A study conducted by the University of Nebraska collected fresh mother's milk in sterile containers for research. It was discovered that the milk was infected with salmonella, which causes intestinal cramping, among other things. Streptococcus and herpes virus were also present. Therefore, the unprecedented and extreme measure of pasteurizing mother's milk donated to banks was recommended in order to prevent the spread of infection through the milk banks (Agel 1982).
Changes in the level of bifidobacteria present can be a direct consequence of increasing contamination of the environment including air, water, foods, radioactive substances, antibiotics, pesticides, toxic minerals and undocumented phenomena. Your baby needs Bifidobacteria infantis supplementation on a daily basis as an optimal "health insurance policy." Undoubtedly, the importance of breast-feeding should not be diminished. However, the conditions of modern times warrant the need for properly supplementing your infant’s diet.
Protecting your infant and yourself
On a daily basis, your newborn is faced with exciting new challenges in the real world. Unfortunately, there are also many not-so-exciting challenges that mother and child must deal with such as infectious disease. Children acquire disease as a natural process and physicians agree that being exposed to various illnesses as a child helps build the immune system. However, preventative measures are extremely important for most illnesses, which means proper protection is necessary for mother and child.
Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of acute diarrhea in infants. In this condition, the child’s intestinal walls are damaged and the protective function of the intestinal microflora is weakened. By the age of three, nearly all children have at least one bout of this virus that causes diarrhea, vomiting and mild fever. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, up to 50,000 children and adults are hospitalized due to rotavirus each year.
In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine for rotavirus. Only months later, the CDC warned against giving the vaccine to children due to cases of unforeseen bowel complications. As a result, the manufacturer of the rotavirus vaccine withdrew its product after being on the market for only one year. It became the first vaccine recommended for routine use in children to ever be withdrawn from the prescription drug market. This incidence is one of many to show that parents must be more educated and involved in what is given or prescribed to their children. As researchers, physicians, and parents are all trying to find an effective method for treating rotavirus infection, probiotics are becoming a prominent option.
A recent study at Johns Hopkins University was conducted with 55 infants to treat acute diarrhea. In this double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, infants aged 5 to 24 months were fed either a supplemented formula containing bifidobacteria or a control formula. The results revealed that the occurrence of developing acute diarrhea was significantly lower in the infants receiving the supplemented formula compared to the infants receiving the control formula. Of the 26 patients receiving the control formula, 31% developed diarrhea. In contrast, only 7% of the 29 patients receiving the supplemented formula developed diarrhea. Furthermore, the probiotic-supplemented formula reduced the rate of rotavirus-associated diarrhea as well as decreasing rotavirus shedding (Saavedra 2000).
Another study in Thailand enrolled 175 children to determine prevention strategies of diarrheal disease in children less than 5 years of age. Infants aged 6 to 36 months were randomized into groups receiving either a milk-based formula or the same formula supplemented with bifidobacteria. In the control group receiving the milk-based formula, 30.4% of the infants had at least a 4-fold increase in antibody titer, which indicates a subclinical rotavirus infection. The antibody titers of the bifidobacteria-supplemented formula did not change significantly. The conclusion of this study supported the hypothesis that supplementing infant formula with bifidobacteria may help protect against rotavirus infection (Pornimpon 1999).
Clinical studies such as these are paving the way for much more research to come. The consensus of doctors and researchers in the probiotics field is that infants, children and adults can all benefit greatly from probiotic supplementation. Infant specific Bifidobacteria infantis is a very important part of daily food supplementation not only for infants, but children up to age 7 and pregnant and nursing women. It is especially needed for formula-fed infants and children, as well mothers not in optimal health or exposed to unhealthy environments. There are numerous factors in giving your infant, child or yourself bifidobacteria supplementation, and doing so will ensure numerous benefits:
• Inhibits colonization of the intestine by invading disease-causing bacteria by fiercely competing for nutrients and attachment sites on the surface of the intestinal tract
• Produces acetic acid which inhibits the growth of Candida albicans (yeast infections) in the intestine
• Produces natural antibiotic substances which inhibit the growth of pathogens
• Encourages better weight gain through nitrogen retention, especially important for formula-fed infants
• Plays a protective role against Infections
• Provides a source of antigens which may induce the formation of antibodies - the body’s immune army response to invasion of undesirable viruses and bacteria
• Assists in the absorption of calcium and other vitamins and minerals
• Plays a protective role from side effects of oral antibiotic therapy
• Helps to produce lactase - an enzyme necessary to break down milk sugar (lactose)
• Helps to rid the body of toxins
• Prevents predisposition to allergies
• Helps to introduce friendly microorganisms after x-rays that destroy friendly flora
Bibliography
Agel, E.N. et al. "Bacterial Content of Raw and Processed Human Milk." Journal of Food Protection, 45, 6, 533-536, 1982.
Grutte, F. K. and W. Muller-Beuthow. "Instability of the Normal Intestinal Flora in Human Infants." Human Gastrointestinal Microflora, 39-44, 1980.
Isolauri, E. "The Use of Probiotics in Pediatrics." Hospital Medicine, 61, 1, 6-7, 2000.
Langhendries, J.P. et al. "Effect of fermented infant formula containing viable bifidobacteria on the fecal flora composition and pH of healthy full-term infants." J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr, 21,2, 177-81, 1995.
McCann, M.L. "Can Probiotics Prevent Allergic Disease Like Eczema and Asthma?"
Majaama, H. and E. Isolauri. "Probiotics: A Novel Approach in the Management of Food Allergy." Journal of Allergy &Clinical Immunology, 99, 2, 179-185, 1997.
Mata, L.J. et al. "Shigella Infection in Breast-Fed Guatemalan Indian Neonates." Amer J Dis Child. 117, 1969.
Pornimpon, P. et al. "Reduction of Rotavirus Infection in Children Receiving Bifidobacteria-Supplemented Formula." J Med Assoc Thai. 82, S1, S43-S48, 1999.
Poupard, J.A. et al. "Biology of the Bifidobacteria." Bacteriological Reviews, 37, 2, 136-165, 1973.
Rasic, J.L. "Bifidobacteria and diarrhea control in infants and young children." International Clinical Nutrition Review, 12, 1, 1992.
Rasic, J.L. "Occurrence of B. infantis and B. bifidum in the gut of infants and adults." Letter of correspondence, 1988.
Rasic, J.L. and J.A. Kurmann. Bifidobacteria and Their Role, Boston: Birkhauser Verlag, 1983.
Saavedra, J. "Probiotics and Infectious Diarrhea." The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 95,1, S16-S18, 2000.
Saavedra J et al. "Feeding of Bifidobacterium bifidum, and Streptococcus thermophilus to infants in hospital prevention of diarrhea, and shedding of rotavirus." Lancet, 344, 1046-9, 1994.
Wold, A.E. "The Hygiene Hypothesis Revised: Is the Rising Frequency of Allergy Due to Changes in the Intestinal Flora?" Allergy, 53, Suppl. 46, 20-25, 1998.
Their Key Benefits, Functions, & Selection
by Natasha Trenev
At the end of a long and healthy pregnancy is a crucial event that prepares the newborn for a healthy life in the real world. During birth, mothers inoculate their newborns with various strains of bacteria that are essential to provide a foundation for the future of the infant’s health. Today, technological and pharmacological advances have made it difficult for newborns to be introduced into this world the way that nature intended it. While doctors and hospitals attempt to provide the most sterile and safe environment for both mother and child, the health of the newborn may be adversely affected by such conditions. Your infant may be inhibited from gaining the vital beneficial bacteria that occurs naturally in your intestinal tract, vagina, mouth, and birth canal. Of the many beneficial bacteria varieties that exist in your body, bifidobacteria are considered the most prevalent and essential beneficial microorganisms to the well being of infants, children and adults. This article will discuss the factors that exist in today’s world that make supplementation of bifidobacteria crucial to your infant’s health.
What are Bifidobacteria?
Bifidobacteria were first described and named by H. Tissier, a French scientist, in 1899 and 1900. Bifid in Latin means "Y" shaped and amply describes the shape Tissier saw. For the next 50 years one of the concerns the scientist had was proving and substantiating the significance of the bifidobacteria in the health of the newborn. It was determined that the numbers of bifidobacteria were fewer in the stools of bottle-fed infants and that, when the infants were weaned, bifidobacteria were found only in small numbers. Scientific interest in this friendly microorganism grew as clinical evidence in Europe showed that breast-fed infants were less susceptible to infections than bottle-fed babies. This led to speculation that bifidobacteria in the large intestine might play a role in the resistance to infection.
Continued investigation led to interest by microbiologists in the nature and classification of this organism. Initially, it was erroneously classified as L. bifidus and this led to confusion with Lactobacillus acidophilus, another important friendly microorganism. However, since 1974, the scientific community has recognized that bifidobacteria warrant their own genus classification. The Bifidobacteria genus has 11 species; two of the most important species are Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium infantis. While both play a major role in human health, B. infantis is the only species of which all known strains are infant specific. In other words, all strains of Bifidobacterium infantis occur naturally as the most prominent beneficial bacteria in infants.
Where are they found?
Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli are normal and resident inhabitants of the human gut. Their occurrence in the intestinal tract occurs in different proportions. Ninety nine percent of the cultivatable flora in the large intestine of breast fed infants is bifidobacteria. Lactobacilli, enterococci and coliforms comprise about one percent (range one to 15 percent) of the flora. Other microorganisms are absent or insignificant.
Babies need Beneficial Bacteria
Nature meant all babies to be delivered normally. However, C-sections are a blessing when they are needed and not abused. Normally delivered babies pass through the birth canal and are bathed with the friendly, protective bacteria such as Bifidobacteria infantis, Bifidobacteria bifidum, and Lactobacillus acidophilus. These beneficial bacteria enter the baby’s intestines through the mouth and feverishly attempt to set up attachment sites on the gastrointestinal wall before other not-so-friendly microorganisms attempt to do the same as the baby enters the real world.
Breast-feeding intensifies the presence of bifidobacteria naturally, thus establishing a microflora comprised of 99% bifidobacteria in the large intestine of a healthy baby nursed by a healthy mother. C-sectioned babies do not receive a healthy portion of these friendly microorganisms. A recent study states that newborns exposed to a highly sterilized environment at birth lack the proper intestinal balance of the intestines for the prevention of disease and allergies (Wold 1998). The overuse or misuse of antibiotics for infants can also lead to an unhealthy condition of the intestines. Medical scientists found that infants and children in underdeveloped countries have less cases of allergic disease than children of developed countries.
While this fact seems odd, the difference correlates to the greater use of antibiotics in developed countries, which disturbs the normal bowel flora of infants (McCann). An unhealthy and unbalanced intestinal flora can manifest itself in the form of allergies and asthma in children. Combining the factors of a C-sectioned birth, feeding the infant cow’s milk rather than breast milk, and overusing antibiotics, a baby has no source of receiving the normal healthy flora that is crucial to optimal health.
In a study of intestinal flora in a rural area of Guatemala, out of 210 babies born in a village, 109 were breast-fed. The breast-fed infants showed high concentrations of bifidobacteria, nearly 100 percent of all bacteria cultured from the breast-fed infants were bifidobacteria. Only four of the breast-fed babies developed Shigella infection, which causes severe diarrhea. The rate of infection for the non breast-fed babies was much higher (Mata 1969).
A double blind, randomized control study in Belgium gave 20 healthy infants a formula supplemented with bifidobacteria during their first two months of life. The results were compared to a standard infant formula as well as a control group of fully breast-fed infants. The infants receiving the probiotic formula had a prevalence of bifidobacteria colonization similar to the breast fed infants but significantly higher than in the group fed the standard infant formula (Langhendries 1995). This evidence shows the importance of supplementing your infant’s formula with bifidobacteria because a standard commercial infant formula is not an adequate replacement for breast-feeding.
Unfortunately, even mothers’ milk may no longer be counted on to nurture adequate levels of Bifidobacterium infantis in an infant’s intestinal tract. Dr. J. Lj. Rasic, the world’s leading researcher and authority on bifidobacteria, suggests supplementing a baby’s diet with B. infantis on a daily basis. The regular ingestion of a large number of viable B. infantis, e.g. one billion or more per day, ensures a continued supply of these friendly bacteria to the intestinal tract. By their "mass effect" and some metabolic activity, these bacteria help indigenous organisms combat harmful bacteria and pathogens.
Why breast feeding is not enough?
Breast-feeding is significantly better than formula; however, certain factors in our polluted environment make breast-feeding alone insufficient for the optimal health of the infant.
In a German scientific paper, it was shown that in the twenty-year period, 1957 to 1977, the number of bifidobacteria has declined in breast-fed infants (Grutte 1980). Certain strains have disappeared altogether. However, the presence of E. coli bacteria has increased along with pathogens, or disease-causing bacteria, such as Klebsiella. Researchers have found strains of E. coli that are resistant to potent and regularly used antibiotics such as neomycin and ceftazidime.
Similarly, at the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, it was found that of 61 breast-fed infants, only 20 percent had significant numbers of bifidobacteria (Poupard 1973). A similar study was conducted at a suburban hospital; two thirds of the 21 breast-fed babies had significant numbers of bifidobacteria. An explanation has not been found, although some unidentified environmental factor is probably responsible for the difference.
A study conducted by the University of Nebraska collected fresh mother's milk in sterile containers for research. It was discovered that the milk was infected with salmonella, which causes intestinal cramping, among other things. Streptococcus and herpes virus were also present. Therefore, the unprecedented and extreme measure of pasteurizing mother's milk donated to banks was recommended in order to prevent the spread of infection through the milk banks (Agel 1982).
Changes in the level of bifidobacteria present can be a direct consequence of increasing contamination of the environment including air, water, foods, radioactive substances, antibiotics, pesticides, toxic minerals and undocumented phenomena. Your baby needs Bifidobacteria infantis supplementation on a daily basis as an optimal "health insurance policy." Undoubtedly, the importance of breast-feeding should not be diminished. However, the conditions of modern times warrant the need for properly supplementing your infant’s diet.
Protecting your infant and yourself
On a daily basis, your newborn is faced with exciting new challenges in the real world. Unfortunately, there are also many not-so-exciting challenges that mother and child must deal with such as infectious disease. Children acquire disease as a natural process and physicians agree that being exposed to various illnesses as a child helps build the immune system. However, preventative measures are extremely important for most illnesses, which means proper protection is necessary for mother and child.
Rotavirus infection is the most common cause of acute diarrhea in infants. In this condition, the child’s intestinal walls are damaged and the protective function of the intestinal microflora is weakened. By the age of three, nearly all children have at least one bout of this virus that causes diarrhea, vomiting and mild fever. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, up to 50,000 children and adults are hospitalized due to rotavirus each year.
In 1998, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine for rotavirus. Only months later, the CDC warned against giving the vaccine to children due to cases of unforeseen bowel complications. As a result, the manufacturer of the rotavirus vaccine withdrew its product after being on the market for only one year. It became the first vaccine recommended for routine use in children to ever be withdrawn from the prescription drug market. This incidence is one of many to show that parents must be more educated and involved in what is given or prescribed to their children. As researchers, physicians, and parents are all trying to find an effective method for treating rotavirus infection, probiotics are becoming a prominent option.
A recent study at Johns Hopkins University was conducted with 55 infants to treat acute diarrhea. In this double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, infants aged 5 to 24 months were fed either a supplemented formula containing bifidobacteria or a control formula. The results revealed that the occurrence of developing acute diarrhea was significantly lower in the infants receiving the supplemented formula compared to the infants receiving the control formula. Of the 26 patients receiving the control formula, 31% developed diarrhea. In contrast, only 7% of the 29 patients receiving the supplemented formula developed diarrhea. Furthermore, the probiotic-supplemented formula reduced the rate of rotavirus-associated diarrhea as well as decreasing rotavirus shedding (Saavedra 2000).
Another study in Thailand enrolled 175 children to determine prevention strategies of diarrheal disease in children less than 5 years of age. Infants aged 6 to 36 months were randomized into groups receiving either a milk-based formula or the same formula supplemented with bifidobacteria. In the control group receiving the milk-based formula, 30.4% of the infants had at least a 4-fold increase in antibody titer, which indicates a subclinical rotavirus infection. The antibody titers of the bifidobacteria-supplemented formula did not change significantly. The conclusion of this study supported the hypothesis that supplementing infant formula with bifidobacteria may help protect against rotavirus infection (Pornimpon 1999).
Clinical studies such as these are paving the way for much more research to come. The consensus of doctors and researchers in the probiotics field is that infants, children and adults can all benefit greatly from probiotic supplementation. Infant specific Bifidobacteria infantis is a very important part of daily food supplementation not only for infants, but children up to age 7 and pregnant and nursing women. It is especially needed for formula-fed infants and children, as well mothers not in optimal health or exposed to unhealthy environments. There are numerous factors in giving your infant, child or yourself bifidobacteria supplementation, and doing so will ensure numerous benefits:
• Inhibits colonization of the intestine by invading disease-causing bacteria by fiercely competing for nutrients and attachment sites on the surface of the intestinal tract
• Produces acetic acid which inhibits the growth of Candida albicans (yeast infections) in the intestine
• Produces natural antibiotic substances which inhibit the growth of pathogens
• Encourages better weight gain through nitrogen retention, especially important for formula-fed infants
• Plays a protective role against Infections
• Provides a source of antigens which may induce the formation of antibodies - the body’s immune army response to invasion of undesirable viruses and bacteria
• Assists in the absorption of calcium and other vitamins and minerals
• Plays a protective role from side effects of oral antibiotic therapy
• Helps to produce lactase - an enzyme necessary to break down milk sugar (lactose)
• Helps to rid the body of toxins
• Prevents predisposition to allergies
• Helps to introduce friendly microorganisms after x-rays that destroy friendly flora
Bibliography
Agel, E.N. et al. "Bacterial Content of Raw and Processed Human Milk." Journal of Food Protection, 45, 6, 533-536, 1982.
Grutte, F. K. and W. Muller-Beuthow. "Instability of the Normal Intestinal Flora in Human Infants." Human Gastrointestinal Microflora, 39-44, 1980.
Isolauri, E. "The Use of Probiotics in Pediatrics." Hospital Medicine, 61, 1, 6-7, 2000.
Langhendries, J.P. et al. "Effect of fermented infant formula containing viable bifidobacteria on the fecal flora composition and pH of healthy full-term infants." J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr, 21,2, 177-81, 1995.
McCann, M.L. "Can Probiotics Prevent Allergic Disease Like Eczema and Asthma?"
Majaama, H. and E. Isolauri. "Probiotics: A Novel Approach in the Management of Food Allergy." Journal of Allergy &Clinical Immunology, 99, 2, 179-185, 1997.
Mata, L.J. et al. "Shigella Infection in Breast-Fed Guatemalan Indian Neonates." Amer J Dis Child. 117, 1969.
Pornimpon, P. et al. "Reduction of Rotavirus Infection in Children Receiving Bifidobacteria-Supplemented Formula." J Med Assoc Thai. 82, S1, S43-S48, 1999.
Poupard, J.A. et al. "Biology of the Bifidobacteria." Bacteriological Reviews, 37, 2, 136-165, 1973.
Rasic, J.L. "Bifidobacteria and diarrhea control in infants and young children." International Clinical Nutrition Review, 12, 1, 1992.
Rasic, J.L. "Occurrence of B. infantis and B. bifidum in the gut of infants and adults." Letter of correspondence, 1988.
Rasic, J.L. and J.A. Kurmann. Bifidobacteria and Their Role, Boston: Birkhauser Verlag, 1983.
Saavedra, J. "Probiotics and Infectious Diarrhea." The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 95,1, S16-S18, 2000.
Saavedra J et al. "Feeding of Bifidobacterium bifidum, and Streptococcus thermophilus to infants in hospital prevention of diarrhea, and shedding of rotavirus." Lancet, 344, 1046-9, 1994.
Wold, A.E. "The Hygiene Hypothesis Revised: Is the Rising Frequency of Allergy Due to Changes in the Intestinal Flora?" Allergy, 53, Suppl. 46, 20-25, 1998.