contamination of pasteurized human milk donations: frequency, origin, seasonal distribution, molecular typing of strains and proposed corrective/preventive actions.

OBJECTIVES

An increase in pasteurized human milk contamination with was witnessed in milk donated to the Amiens-Picardie Human Milk Bank over the 2017-2018 period. To better understand the origin of such an increase, this study aimed to describe the frequency of contamination in anonymous and personalized human milk donations of Amiens Human Milk Bank in 2018, compare the genetic profiles of strains found in pasteurized human milk and set up corrective/preventive actions to reduce contamination.

STUDY DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study of human milk donated from January to December 2018 was set. Data on the microbiological quality of donated human milk and genetic profiles of strains isolated from pasteurized donated human milk and the environment were collected.

RESULTS

The overall noncompliance rate related to the microbiological quality in the 1585 batches of analyzed human milk donations was of 27.3%. Post-Holder pasteurization, rejection rates were significantly higher for anonymous donations as compared to personalized ones. was the main cause of noncompliance. contaminations could not be attributed to a single strain spreading through Amiens human milk bank and Amiens hospital environment as the genetic profiles of the collected strains were different. Corrective actions led to a decrease in the noncompliance rate due to (37.7-9.7%) post-Holder pasteurization.

CONCLUSION

was the primary cause of rejection for pasteurized human milk donations over the investigated period. These contaminations did not originate from the spread of a single strain. A first round of corrective actions enabled a fair decrease in contaminations.