Science alerts pregnant women to the danger of contracting the coronavirus 0:54
(CNN) - A French team reported transmission of covid-19 through the placenta after a mother became infected during the last trimester of pregnancy.
Both the mother and her newborn tested positive for coronavirus, according to the report, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications .
The woman was admitted to a French hospital in March with symptoms such as fever and severe cough. Genetic tests for coronaviruses were detected in her blood and on nasopharyngeal and vaginal swabs. The doctors decided to give birth to the baby by cesarean section.
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The tests also detected SARS-CoV-2 in the newborn. And days after birth, the boy also developed neurological complications, including irregular muscle contractions. The baby's cerebrospinal fluid was negative for coronavirus or any other germ. At 11 days after birth, an MRI of the boy's brain showed abnormalities in some regions of the white matter.
Placental analysis detected coronaviruses at levels much higher than in the mother's or child's blood or in the intact amniotic fluid surrounding the fetus before birth. That suggested to researchers that the virus crossed the placenta and infected the baby in the womb.
The mother was discharged in good condition six days after delivery, and the child was discharged after 18 days. About two months later, the boy showed a better neurological condition with a normal clinical exam, the researchers reported.
Other researchers have described the possible transmission of covid-19 during the period immediately before or after birth. The authors of the Nature Communications study said these cases had unaddressed problems, such as an unclear route for virus transmission.
"It is important to clarify whether and how SARS-CoV-2 reaches the fetus, to prevent neonatal infection, optimize pregnancy management, and ultimately better understand the biology of SARS-CoV-2," they wrote.
Pregnancy