A BOLTON nurse has warned the latest breakthrough in cot death research could be "just another flavour-of-the-month theory".

Jackie Parkinson, whose baby son Sam died in November, 1988, says so many reasons and theories have been put forward in the past 12 years that parents should treat most of them with caution.

Jackie, who lives in The Haulgh is a nurse at Canon Slade School.

She was speaking after the publication of new findings which suggest the parents of cot death victims may have passed on a deadly bug to their babies.

Since the tragedy which devastated her own family, Jackie has thrown herself into the work of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths.

In the latest work, researchers from Manchester Royal Infirmary, led by Dr Jonathan Kerr, found that 28 out of the 32 cot death babies they studied were infected by a bacterium which can be transmitted orally.

They had a much higher rate of Helicobacter Pylori infection, which is known to cause stomach inflammation and is associated with peptic ulcers and gastric cancer in adults.

The prevalence of the infection in infants in developed countries is generally less than two per cent.

Dr Kerr stressed that much more far reaching research will be needed but added: "We are excited by the results. I think it is likely that this identifies a new risk factor.

"One possibility is that bacterium could be passed to babies through the feeding bottle, because the teat is frequently sucked by the mother or carer to check the temperature.

"With the findings we have at the moment, it is sensible to prevent the transfer of saliva from carers to the mouths of babies.

"In practical terms, that also means good hand hygiene."

He warned parents not to suck babies' bottles and dummies.

One theory is that babies may have died through breathing in urease, a by-product of the bug present in the stomach.

Jackie Parkinson said she welcomed the fact that so much research is continuing into a mystery that has shattered so many families.

She said: "It is so long since our little one died that we have given up wondering because so many flavour of the month theories keep being put forward.

"This could be just another one."

"The best advice seems to have been to lie babies on their backs. Cot deaths are now very rarely heard of in the Bolton and Wigan health authority area."

Dr Caroline Blackwell, whose team at Edinburgh University is investigating genetic links with cot deaths, warned that the Manchester team's findings were merely "the beginning of a new series of things to follow up".

Latest figures show that despite the improvement in Bolton and Wigan's record -- there were seven cases as recently as 1996 -- there are still six deaths a week in Britain that are put down to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

The mystery of cot death has baffled the world's best medical brains for generations.

And the heartbreaking issue was thrust into the public eye in Britain in 1991 when top TV presenter Anne Diamond lost her baby boy Sebastian.

She became a major figure in focusing attention on cot death and promoting the FSID. Over the years, the BEN has reported many "breakthroughs" offering new answers to what might cause cot deaths.

But the only ones that seem to have been widely accepted and which are now recommended by health professionals is to lie babies on their back, and not on their front or side.

And for parents to avoid smoking.

Other theories have been rooms too hot or too cold, the wrong kind of blankets or duvets, the wrong kind of pillows, infections passed through the nose, electro-magnetic fields, atmospheric pollution and fumes from fireproofing chemicals.

Only a year ago, Westhoughton mum Tracy Bell rubbished research which claimed that duvets might be to blame.

Her son Nathan, seven months, died as he lay on the floor with no bed clothing near him.

The FSID has been a major force in educating new generations of young mothers in reducing the known and avoidable risks and has had teams of volunteers in Bolton secondary schools talking to teenagers.

The six key action points:

Place your baby on the back to sleep.

Cut smoking in pregnancy -- fathers too.

Do not let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby.

Do not let your baby get too hot.

Keep baby's head uncovered -- with feet to the foot of the cot to prevent the baby wriggling down under the covers.

If your baby is unwell, seek medical help promptly.

FSID's helpline number is 020 7233 2090.