Neonatal pneumonia mother to child vertical transmission? Chinese Academy of Sciences Huang Hefeng: The evidence is insufficient! Special people need to be vigilant
China News Online, April 3rd (Chen Jing, Zheng Jiaqi) The topic of whether new crown pneumonia can be transmitted vertically from mother to child has been receiving much attention. Huang Hefeng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital of the Chinese Welfare Association, said in an interview with reporters on the 3rd that all the current research cannot explain that vertical coronary transmission of neonatal pneumonia must exist, but newborns are infected during birth. The odds are high.
In the interview, Huang Hefeng introduced the study of a 29-year-old woman by Wuhan University People's Hospital and the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University. Her nasopharyngeal swab test and IgG and IgM antibodies were positive at 34 weeks and 5 days of pregnancy, and her vaginal discharge test was negative. Babies who underwent cesarean delivery up to 16 days of age received 5 nasopharyngeal swab tests, all of which were negative. The study found that two hours after birth, the IgG and IgM antibodies in the baby's blood increased to several times their normal levels, respectively.
lgM and lgG are antibodies produced by the human body. IgG antibodies are the smallest molecular weight of antibodies. The mother can be transfused to the fetus or infant through the placenta and milk to protect the child from infection within six months after birth. IgM antibodies are antibodies. The one with the largest medium molecular weight is produced first after an infection occurs in an individual and plays an anti-infective role in the early stage of infection.
Huang Hefeng believes that although the discovery of viral antibodies in newborns can be used as primary evidence for vertical transmission of neonatal coronary pneumonia from mother to child, these evidences need to be strengthened and clinical information is not complete. She believes: "In addition to the limitations of the test method itself, detailed information before and after childbirth is required."
"A number of related factors may cause IgM to show positive results." Huang Hefeng pointed out, "Current studies on whether there is vertical transmission of neonatal pneumonia from mother to child lacks placental, amniotic fluid, and umbilical cord blood detection indicators. Direct evidence, and the most important 'sufficient and necessary condition'. "
The expert pointed out that after delivery of a pregnant woman with neo-coronary pneumonia, the newborn was diagnosed with neo-coronary pneumonia or suspected neo-coronary pneumonia. In addition to the possibility of vertical transmission from mother to child, the possibility of infection during production is also greater because Newborns are exposed naked to new coronary pneumonia after birth. Huang Hefeng suggested that after giving birth to a pregnant woman with neo-coronary pneumonia, the newborn should immediately leave the delivery environment and use an isolation device or isolation box for transport to reduce the chance of the newborn being infected.
Due to the uncertainty of the current vertical mother-to-child infection, most doctors advocate termination of pregnancy through cesarean section in response to the need for delivery of pregnant women with neocoronavirus infection. The latest research by the academician Huang Hefeng's team found that vaginal delivery can also be an option for pregnant women with new crown virus infection. Studies have found that the virus can also be detected in the breast milk of pregnant women infected with neocoronavirus, so it is questionable whether breastfeeding can be performed after delivery. The research results provide another idea for the fertility and clinical treatment of pregnant women with new coronary pneumonia.
Huang Hefeng pointed out that the prevention and control of special populations such as pregnant women and newborns still need to be vigilant. (Finish)