REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HEALTH

Fetuses may be able to contract coronavirus infections in wombs, multiple studies indicate

However, experts caution that more research and more definitive evidence is needed. A previous study had said that newborns might not get the virus from their infected mothers
UPDATED MAR 27, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Researchers globally are trying to understand whether the new coronavirus can be transmitted in utero from an infected mother to her infant before birth. Multiple studies from separate research teams in China now report details of newborns who may have been infected with COVID-19 in utero from mothers with the coronavirus disease. These studies raise concerns that the new coronavirus may be able to infect a fetus in the womb, but experts caution more definitive evidence and more studies are needed on the matter. 

According to one study, researchers found that three out of 33 babies -- born to women in China who had COVID-19 -- were infected.  For the study, all children born to mothers with COVID-19 were recruited from Wuhan Children's Hospital, in Wuhan.

Patient 1 was born at 40 weeks and the delivery was a cesarean delivery. On the second day, the infant experienced lethargy and fever. Patient 2 was born at 40 weeks and four days by cesarean delivery and he presented with lethargy, vomiting, and fever. In the case of both children, “nasopharyngeal and anal swabs were positive for COVID-19 on days 2 and 4 of life and negative on day 6.”

The third patient was born at 31 weeks and two days’ gestation by cesarean delivery. In this case, swabs were positive for COVID-19 on days 2 and 4 of life and negative on day 7.

“In this cohort, three of 33 infants (9%) presented with early-onset COVID-19 infection. Because strict infection control and prevention procedures were implemented during the delivery, it is likely that the sources of COVID-19 in the neonates’ upper respiratory tracts or anuses were maternal in origin,” says the research team from China. The findings have been published in JAMA Pediatrics. 

The experts say that the vertical maternal-fetal transmission cannot be ruled out in the current cohort. “Therefore, it is crucial to screen pregnant women and implement strict infection control measures, quarantine of infected mothers, and close monitoring of neonates at risk of COVID-19,” they recommend.

A previous study had suggested that COVID-19 is not transmitted from pregnant mothers to newborns. The researchers from China had found that three infants -- born to pregnant women, who were confirmed to have COVID-19 infection in Wuhan -- did not test positive for the virus.

A previous study suggested that COVID-19 is not transmitted from pregnant mothers to newborns.. (Getty Images)

Two more studies, published in JAMA, present details of three newborns who may have been infected with COVID-19 in utero from mothers with coronavirus disease. The experts report finding a type of antibody to COVID-19 in newborns that are not typically passed across the placenta from mother to fetus.

In one study, a mother with COVID-19 and her infant delivered February 22, 2020, at Renmin Hospital, Wuhan, China, were evaluated. On January 28, 2020, a 29-year-old woman (34 weeks and two days of gestation) suspected of being exposed to COVID-19, developed a temperature of 37.9° C and nasal congestion, which progressed to respiratory difficulties.

On February 2, the patient was admitted to Renmin Hospital, where she tested positive for COVID-19. On February 22, a girl was delivered by cesarean. The mother wore an N95 mask and did not hold the infant. The newborn had no symptoms and was immediately quarantined in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Two hours after birth, tests showed the baby had elevated levels of antibodies against COVID-19. These antibodies are known as IgG and IgM. The elevated IgM antibody level suggests that the neonate was infected in utero, says the team from China.

IgM antibodies are too large to cross the placenta and so detection in a newborn “reasonably could be assumed to reflect fetal production following in utero infection,” say experts. 

“Although infection at delivery cannot be ruled out, IgM antibodies usually do not appear until three to seven days after infection, and the elevated IgM in the neonate was evident in a blood sample drawn two hours after birth. Also, the mother’s vaginal secretions were negative for SARS-CoV-2. IgG antibodies can be transmitted to the fetus through the placenta and appear later than IgM...Therefore, the elevated IgG level may reflect maternal or infant infection,” say researchers. 

Experts say that caution should be exercised while interpreting the results of the studies. (Getty Images)

In another study, clinical records and laboratory results were reviewed for six pregnant women with COVID-19 admitted to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from February 16 to March 6, 2020. All had cesarean deliveries in their third trimester. All mothers wore masks, and all medical staff wore protective suits and double masks. The infants were isolated from their mothers immediately after delivery. 

The analysis shows that among six mothers with confirmed COVID-19, the virus was not detected in the serum or throat swab in any of their newborns. But virus-specific antibodies were detected in “neonatal blood sera samples.”

“The IgG concentrations were elevated in 5 infants. IgG is passively transferred across the placenta from mother to fetus beginning at the end of the second trimester and reaches high levels at the time of birth. However, IgM, which was detected in 2 infants, is not usually transferred from mother to fetus because of its larger macromolecular structure,” says the research team, also from China.

Commenting on these two studies, an editorial says that caution should be exercised while interpreting the results reported. “Is it possible that SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted in utero? Yes, especially because virus nucleic acid has been detected in blood samples. Is it also possible that these results are erroneous? Absolutely,” says the editorial published in JAMA. 

It further says, “Although these 2 studies deserve careful evaluation, more definitive evidence is needed before the provocative findings they report can be used to counsel pregnant women that their fetuses are at risk from congenital infection with COVID-19.”

POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW