Nat Commun: Accident! Cases of COVID-19 infection in the womb were detected!

July 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- French doctors have described what they say is the first confirmed case of a newborn baby being infected with COVID-19 in the womb by his motherThey recently reported in the journal Nature Communications that the baby boy, born in March, developed brain swelling and neurological symptoms associated with COVID-19, but has since recoveredDaniele De Luca, a doctor and senior author at the Antoine Beclere Hospital near Paris, said early studies suggested the virus could be transmitted from the mother to the fetus, but the study provided the first conclusive evidence"We have shown that in the last weeks of pregnancy, it is possible for the virus to spread from the mother to the fetus through the placenta," he saidPhoto Source: Last week, italian researchers said data on 31 pregnant women hospitalized for COVID-19 "strongly suggest" that the virus could spread to unborn babiesA study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in March came to a similar conclusionBut the evidence is still circumstantial"You need to analyze the mother's blood, amniotic fluid, newborn blood, placenta, and so on," Beclere saidIn emergency situations, it is not easy to obtain all these samples during a pandemicThat's why people doubt it, but it's never provenBeclere and his team collected data on a case of a pregnant woman in her 20s who was admitted to his hospital in early MarchSince the baby is delivered by caesarean section, all potential sources and hosts of the virus are intactThe researchers found that the concentration of the virus was highest in the placentaThe virus is transmitted from there to the baby through the umbilical cord and there it develops, which is the route of transmission"Bad news" babies begin to develop severe symptoms 24 hours after birth, including severe physical stiffness, impaired white blood and extreme irritabilityBut before the doctor decides on a treatment, the symptoms begin to subsideAfter three weeks, the newborn was almost entirely on his ownAfter three months, his mother was out of condition"The bad news is that it does happen and it may continue to happen, but the good news is that it's very rare -- very rare compared to the global population"Mothers with COVID-19 give birth to thousands of babies, and only less than one or two percent of children are detected with the virus, and even fewer children show severe symptoms"The most important message for pregnant women remains to avoid infection by paying attention to hand washing and social distance," the researchers said"This case study reveals how the virus passes from mother to childAndrew Shennan, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at King's College London, commented: "This report adds to the possible mechanisms of transfer through the placenta to the babyHowever, women can still rest assured that pregnancy is not a significant risk factor for infection with COVID-19 for them or their babiesReference: Baby infected with COVID-19 in the womb: studyTransplacental transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection.