Ulcer bug link in cot-death

Cot death in babies under a year old may be caused by a stomach infection linked to peptic ulcers which is transferred from parents, British doctors have found.

Researchers from Manchester Royal Infirmary found babies who died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) had a higher rate of the Helicobacter pylori infection than other children.

Although scientists are unsure how the bacterium could cause cot death, Dr Jonathan Kerr, who led the team, urged parents not to lick their children's dummies before placing them in their mouths and to make sure they kept their hands clean. The rate of SIDS in New Zealand is falling after a prevention campaign, but it is still the leading killer of infants more than a month old.

It killed 81 babies in 1997. Researchers here are studying the latest findings.

It is largely unknown why seemingly healthy babies suddenly succumb, although health warnings such as putting babies to sleep on their back and not smoking near them have reduced the likelihood of death in the first year of life.

The researchers, who published the study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, examined the bodies of 32 babies under seven months old who had died from SIDS and compared them with eight babies who had died of other known causes.

Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that causes a stomach inflammation associated with peptic ulcers and gastric cancer.

Two genes indicate the likelihood of Helicobacter infection. One or both genes were found in the tissue samples of 28 of the 32 babies who died from SIDS, for an infection rate of 88 per cent - far higher than the 2 per cent norm.

was that the infection caused inflammation and large amounts of urease, the chief waste product in urine. Large amounts of urease could trigger production of ammonia in the baby's underdeveloped immune system. The ammonia stayed in the baby's system and could be fatal.

Joyce Epstein, director of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, said: "These are interesting findings that may help explain why overwrapping, front sleeping and minor infections may create difficulties for babies."

- INDEPENDENT