Tolerance to orally induced anaphylactic sensitisation to cow's milk proteins and patency of the intestinal mucosa in the neonatal guinea pig.

Guinea pigs fed cow's milk within 2 days of birth may acquire tolerance to anaphylactic sensitisation to cow's milk proteins. Appreciable amounts of beta-lactoglobulin may be detected in their blood, in contrast with animals receiving cow's milk later than this age. Uptake of beta-lactoglobulin from the gut to circulation ceases after the 6th postnatal day. These findings could be relevant to cot death in the human infant should the anaphylactic hypothesis be substantiated.