Probiotic BB-12 may reduce respiratory illness in infants

Daily supplements of Chr. Hansen's probiotic strain BB-12 may significantly reduce the occurrence of respiratory infections in early childhood.

This is the conclusion of a federally funded, clinical study which was published in the September issue of British Journal of Nutrition.

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 109 newborn infants were assigned randomly to a probiotic group receiving BB-12 or to a control group receiving placebo.

The probiotic was administered to the healthy breastfed infants twice a day from the age of one to two months to eight months with a pacifier or a spoon.

"The main finding was that BB-12 reduced respiratory infections. About 65% of the children in the BB-12 group and 94% in the control group had experienced one or more episodes of respiratory infections at the eight-month examination," explains Dr.Teemu Taipale who supervised the study in the Korpilahti-Muurame Health Care Center in Finland.

The symptoms of respiratory infections included running nose, cough, and shortness of breath.