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Baby girl born with coronavirus: Does it prove COVID-19 is transmitted in the womb?

Baby girl born with coronavirus: Does it prove COVID-19 is transmitted in the womb?
The baby also developed strong symptoms like fever and there were signs of cytokine storm, suggesting severe inflammation. @Shutterstock

The newborn tested positive for COVID-19 just 24 hours after birth. Doctors detected presence of coronavirus particles and a protein specific for the virus in the fetal cells.

Written by Longjam Dineshwori |Updated : July 14, 2020 11:28 AM IST

The novel coronavirus still remains a mystery. Scientists are yet to identify the original source of the virus and its mode of transmission from potential animals to humans. Meanwhile, different groups of researchers are coming up with different theories about human-to-human transmission. But little is known about its impact on pregnant women and their unborn child. So far, there is no strong evidence to suggest that pregnant women who catch the virus can pass it to their unborn child. What could be considered as the "strongest evidence yet" for intrauterine vertical transmission of COVID-19, a baby girl was born with coronavirus in Texas, US.

The mother had been diagnosed with COVID-19 while pregnant. She also had type-2 diabetes. Her waters broke at 34 weeks and gave birth to her child prematurely. The next day after the delivery, the baby developed a fever and breathing difficulties. The newborn tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 at 24 and 48 hours after birth. For two weeks, tests for coronavirus continued to come back positive. The doctors treated the baby with supplemental oxygen for several days. After 21 days, both mum and baby recovered and were sent home a UK tabloid newspaper reported.

An infected mother may pass the virus to her infant

Medics from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas consider this case as the "strongest evidence yet" for intrauterine vertical transmission of COVID-19, which means the transmission of the virus from an infected mother to her fetus. The case report was published in The Paediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

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Numerous pregnant women diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 have delivered during the pandemic, but there was hardly any report of respiratory illness or positive molecular evidence for SARS-CoV-2 in the majority of these infants.

The University of Texas study is the first to document intrauterine transmission of the infection during pregnancy, the authors said. Their finding is based on immunohistochemical and ultrastructural evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the fetal cells of the placenta.

Infection was transmitted in the womb

As per the study report, the baby girl was also born "large for gestation age" a common complication of infants of diabetic mothers. On the second day of life, she developed a fever and relatively mild breathing problems, which were unlikely due to prematurity, said the authors. Just 24 hours after birth, she tested positive for Covid-19 and the virus remained in her system for 14 days.

The researchers also found signs of tissue inflammation in the placenta. Following more intricate tests, they found the presence of coronavirus particles and a protein specific for Covid-19 in the fetal cells. These findings confirmed that the infection was transmitted in the womb, rather than during or after birth, the report noted.

Although intrauterine transmission of SARS-CoV-2 appears to be a rare event, the authors said that pregnant women should take extra care to protect themselves and their babies from Covid-19.

The team also highlighted the urgent need for further research on the mechanisms and risk factors of transmission via the womb, as well as the outcomes of congenital Covid-19 in infants.