Babies claim that a baby born with the coronavirus has provided the ‘strongest evidence yet’ that the infection can be trapped in the womb.
The unnamed girl from Texas was taken to intensive care as soon as she was born because her mother had been diagnosed with Covid-19.
She tested positive for the coronavirus the day after birth, after suffering from respiratory problems and fever, two telltale signs of the disease.
When scientists analyzed their placenta, they found inflammation and traces of the coronavirus.
This proves that the baby contracted the virus while she was in the womb rather than after she was born, the team said.
Last week, Italian experts also found “strong evidence” of transmission in the uterus because the virus was discovered in the blood of the umbilical cord and the placenta.
So far, scientists have said transmission of the virus through the placenta “cannot be ruled out” after reports of newborns with Covid-19.
A baby born with the coronavirus is the ‘strongest evidence so far’ that it can be transmitted in utero, doctors say (stock)
Since the pandemic started, doctors have wondered if babies can get the infection during pregnancy and are conducting research on the few cases they can find.
HIV, Zika, and some other viruses can infect the fetus in this way, so scientists say it is possible that Covid-19, which has killed more than half a million people worldwide, could also do so.
Several initial reports from China suggested this, although doctors say it is difficult to determine whether the baby just contracted the virus during delivery or in the hospital.
Dr. Amanda Evans was one of the authors of the latest case study at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.
She said: ‘Numerous babies have been delivered to pregnant women diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2, with the majority of these babies without respiratory disease or positive molecular evidence of SARS-CoV-2.
“Our study is the first to document intrauterine transmission of infection during pregnancy, based on immunohistochemical and ultrastructural evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in fetal placental cells.”
The unidentified baby was born three weeks prematurely, at 34 weeks gestation, because her mother had a premature rupture of membranes (PROM), when the sac membranes rupture before delivery.
Up to 40 percent of premature births are due to PROM, a condition sometimes caused by an infection. It is not clear if it was caused by the coronavirus.
The baby was also big for his age, a complication of his mother’s diabetes during pregnancy.
At first she seemed healthy, as well as being premature, when she was taken to the neonatal intensive care unit.
But doctors knew that she could have been exposed to the coronavirus, which is scientifically called SARS-CoV-2, through her mother.
The day after her birth, doctors discovered that her vital signs had changed. He had mild breathing difficulties and a fever.
Doctors said the respiratory distress was unlikely to be due to the fact that he had been born prematurely since it did not start for 24 hours.
She tested positive for the coronavirus and was treated with supplemental oxygen for several days, but did not require mechanical ventilation.
The Covid-19 tests remained positive for up to 14 days. After 21 days, the mother and baby were sent home in good condition.
The researchers examined the placenta, which showed signs of tissue inflammation. They also found the specific proteins of the coronavirus in the cells of the placenta.
Together, these findings “strongly suggest” that the infection was transmitted in the womb, rather than during or after birth, the doctors said.
This is medically called ‘transmission of the uterus’, and experts have said that the passage of the coronavirus was likely for some time.
“We wanted to be very careful with our interpretation of this data, but now is an even more important time for pregnant women to protect themselves from Covid-19,” said Dr. Evans.
The report, led by Dr. Julide Sisman, details two other cases of ‘vertical transmission’ of the coronavirus, which is when it would happen immediately before or after birth and not in the womb.
The authors said it is difficult to determine at what point a baby with the coronavirus picked it up.
The new case report is the “strongest evidence to date” that uterine transmission is possible, said the press release from magazine editors Wolters Kluwer.
A small study in Italy follows that also found that pregnant women infected with the coronavirus can transmit it to unborn babies.
The researchers studied 31 women with Covid-19, who gave birth between March and April. Two babies tested positive for the virus.
They found signs of the coronavirus in various blood samples from the umbilical cord, the placenta and, in one case, breast milk.
In one case, “there is strong evidence to suggest that the newborn was born positive because we found the virus in the umbilical cord blood and in the placenta,” said study leader Dr. Claudio Fenizia, an immunology specialist at the University from Milan.
However, he said that women should not panic because the virus detected in the placenta and other areas is not necessarily viable, in other words, “catch.”
“It is too early to set guidelines,” Dr. Fenizia said at an online medical conference, according to the AP news agency.
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