French doctors have reported the first confirmed case of intrauterine contamination with Covid-19, in a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications . The newborn male child was born in March and suffered from neurological symptoms associated with the disease. "We have shown that transmission from mother to fetus is possible via the placenta in the last weeks of pregnancy," said Dr. Daniele De Luca, of Antoine Beclere de Clamart hospital, the study's lead author.
Previous studies have suggested the possibility of prenatal mother-to-child transmission, but this new study provides evidence, he said. “It is necessary to analyze the maternal blood, the amniotic fluid, the blood of the newborn, the placenta, etc ... Collecting all these samples during an epidemic with emergencies in all directions was not simple, this is why c 'was suspected, but not demonstrated,' he said.
Newborn baby presented with severe symptoms
Doctors conducted the study on a woman in her twenties, hospitalized in early March. As the birth was done by caesarean section, all samples could be taken from the potential reservoirs of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the highest charge of which was found in the placenta. "It went from there through the umbilical cord to the baby, where it developed," said Dr. De Luca.
Twenty-four hours after birth, the newborn presented severe symptoms, including stiffness of the limbs and damage to the cerebral nervous system. Symptoms that finally disappeared on their own, before the doctors decided on a treatment, in the absence of a known remedy for Covid.
It's very rare
“The bad news is that it can happen. The good news is that it's rare - very rare even when reported to the public, "commented Dr. De Luca.
Out of several thousand cases of children born to mothers with Covid-19, no more than 2% tested positive for the virus, and even fewer developed severe symptoms, said Marian Knight, professor of maternal and child health at Oxford University, which did not participate in the study. "The main message for pregnant women remains to avoid infection by hand washing and social distancing," insists this expert.
Health
Coronavirus: Pregnancy, pill ... How is the gynecological monitoring of women organized during confinement?
Society
Coronavirus: "I had to follow her birth by Facetime", the double punishment of future parents
- Baby
- Pregnant
- Contamination
- Coronavirus
- study
- Covid 19
- Health