World IN BRIEF : WORLDWIDE : Breast-Feeding Urged Despite AIDS Risk

The World Health Organization confirmed that the AIDS virus can be transmitted through mother’s milk but urged women to continue breast-feeding their babies. “Breast-feeding is a crucial element of child survival,” said Dr. Michael Merson, director of the organization’s AIDS program. He said studies showed that the vast majority of babies breast-fed by HIV-positive mothers did not become infected. Yet breast-feeding helped protect babies against diarrheal diseases, pneumonia and other serious infections, the Geneva-based agency said.