tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Cureus
. 2021 Jun 17;13(6):e15717.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.15717. eCollection 2021 Jun.
Possible Vertical Transmission From an Unsuspected SARS-CoV-2-Infected Mother to Her Newborn
Ali Naseh[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Sahar Ashrafzadeh[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Although the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been found to have multiple routes of transmission, limited data exist on whether the vertical transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can occur from asymptomatic infected mothers to their newborns during pregnancy. We report a full-term newborn girl who was found to be positive for COVID-19 at 24 hours of life and subsequently symptomatic with fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, elevated lactate dehydrogenase, and elevated total bilirubin. The newborn was delivered by a mother who was not suspected of having COVID-19 before giving birth, but who developed fever and dyspnea five hours after delivery and was found to be positive for COVID-19. Upon further history collection, the mother reported recent mild nasal congestion in the days prior to delivery. This case highlights that the vertical transmission of COVID-19 to a newborn may occur late during the third trimester from a mother who was not suspected of having the infection. All pregnant women may need to be screened for COVID-19 symptoms, including non-specific symptoms, prior to admission for labor and delivery floors in order to perform diagnostic tests and recommended safety precautions to keep newborns and hospital personnel safe.
Keywords: asymptomatic; coronavirus infections; covid-19; infant; maternal-infant infection; newborn health; pregnancy; sars-cov-2; transplacental transmission; vertical infectious disease transmission.
. 2021 Jun 17;13(6):e15717.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.15717. eCollection 2021 Jun.
Possible Vertical Transmission From an Unsuspected SARS-CoV-2-Infected Mother to Her Newborn
Ali Naseh[SUP] 1 2 [/SUP], Sahar Ashrafzadeh[SUP] 3 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 34290917
- PMCID: PMC8288625
- DOI: 10.7759/cureus.15717
Abstract
Although the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been found to have multiple routes of transmission, limited data exist on whether the vertical transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can occur from asymptomatic infected mothers to their newborns during pregnancy. We report a full-term newborn girl who was found to be positive for COVID-19 at 24 hours of life and subsequently symptomatic with fever, tachycardia, tachypnea, elevated lactate dehydrogenase, and elevated total bilirubin. The newborn was delivered by a mother who was not suspected of having COVID-19 before giving birth, but who developed fever and dyspnea five hours after delivery and was found to be positive for COVID-19. Upon further history collection, the mother reported recent mild nasal congestion in the days prior to delivery. This case highlights that the vertical transmission of COVID-19 to a newborn may occur late during the third trimester from a mother who was not suspected of having the infection. All pregnant women may need to be screened for COVID-19 symptoms, including non-specific symptoms, prior to admission for labor and delivery floors in order to perform diagnostic tests and recommended safety precautions to keep newborns and hospital personnel safe.
Keywords: asymptomatic; coronavirus infections; covid-19; infant; maternal-infant infection; newborn health; pregnancy; sars-cov-2; transplacental transmission; vertical infectious disease transmission.