THURSDAY FEB 7, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- Mothers with HIV infection should not pre-chew food for their babies as cases have been reported in the US indicating that pre-mastication can cause transmission of the HIV virus from mothers to children, U.S. government researchers said Wednesday.

Pre-chewing food for young children is very rare in the U.S. and other wealthy countries, but occurs in developing countries either because the women do not have access to packaged baby food or it is not convenient for them to prepare food that is suitable for babies to eat.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had recorded three cases between 1993 and 2004 -- two in Miami and one in Memphis, Tennessee
-- in which the researchers said a child was infected by eating the pre-chewed food.

The CDC researchers said it is the blood in the saliva from the bleeding gums, but not saliva per se that caused the HIV infection.    The virus in the saliva with blood can get into children's bloodstream through a cut, sore, or inflammation of the children's mouths or digestive tract, Reuters reported.

The researchers presented their findings at a scientific conference in Boston. They said there were no other means for the HIV infection such as breastfeeding or blood transfusion in the reported cases.

In one case, a 9-month old girl, who is still alive and being treated with HIV drugs, was diagnosed with HIV infection in 2004. Her mother reported her child ate food she pre-chewed.

The second case involved a 3-year old boy who was diagnosed with HIV in 1995 and died of AIDS in 1996.   The mother had AIDS and pre-chewed food for her child.

In the third case, a 15-month old boy was found with HIV in 1993 and is still alive and being treated with HIV drugs.   He ate food pre-chewed by his aunt who late died of AIDS. His mother did not know the aunt was suffering AIDS until after her death.

"The researchers advise that health care providers and HIV-infected child caregivers should be aware of the potential health risks and should advise those caregivers against the practice of pre-chewing food for their infants," the CDC was cited by Reuters as saying.