Cape Town - It’s long been a mystery as to why perfectly healthy babies suddenly die, but a Stellenbosch University study may provide some answers on cot deaths.
In an analysis of post mortems in cases of sudden unexpected death in infancy(SIDS), researchers found that in almost 60 percent of the cases, the babies had some form of respiratory viral infection (mostly flu virus) and other family viruses that caused lower respiratory tract infections. The analysis was conducted at Tygerberg forensic pathology service mortuary.
Cot deaths occur when an apparently healthy baby dies, without warning, and for no apparent reason.
While cot deaths are rare, it is still the most common cause of death in newborn babies. About 90 percent of cases of cot deaths happen in the first six months. Most are within the first three months of life.
The risk falls as the baby grows older, and few cot deaths happen after the first year of life.
The latest research, which was carried out on about 150 newborns aged between three days and 12 months, between May 2012 and May last year, found that the most common virus among the infants was human rhinovirus, which was found in 77 percent of the cot death cases.
This virus is the main cause of common cold in adults and children.
They also found the respiratory syncytial virus in lung tissue – a major cause of respiratory illness in young children, which causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages. The virus was found in 18 percent of the cases. Human coronavirus, which causes lower respiratory infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia, were found in 14 percent of the cases.
Presenting the study at Stellenbosch University’s Academic Day this week, lead researcher Heleen la Grange said while the research couldn’t ascertain whether these viruses were the cause of death, it was a possibility. The study was part of her masters degree in medical virology
While there were various causes of cot deaths, the most frequent included respiratory infections. The sleeping environment had often been blamed for cot deaths as some babies didn’t respond if their breathing was slightly restricted.
In her study, La Grange also found that 30 percent of children were put to bed on their stomach with 51 percent sleeping with thick blankets, while 71 percent slept in rooms with tightly closed windows. About 70 percent of the children shared their bed, while 41 percent lived in informal housing – all risk factors for cot deaths.
La Grange said despite full medico-legal investigations into cotdeaths, identifiable causes remained challenging.
Cape Argus