What we know so far about COVID-19 infection is that it affects the little ones to a lesser extent, and if we talk about newborn babies with coronavirus, the symptoms they experience are mild , according to recent research published in the European Respiratory Journal .
The study was carried out by researchers from Wuhan University in China, who also highlighted that mother-to-baby transmission cannot be ruled out.
Four babies less than 28 days old with Covid infection born to infected mothers with mild symptoms were observed.
All of them were born by caesarean section and three were separated from their mothers at birth; another was not separated and was breastfed for 16 days until symptoms appeared. Two began to present symptoms in the hospital and the other two, at home after being discharged.
Mild symptoms in newborns
The researchers were able to observe that of the four babies: two had a fever, one had shortness of breath, one had a cough, and one had no symptoms. None required intensive care or mechanical ventilation, and none had serious complications .
Of the three newborn babies who presented symptoms, all recovered at the end of the study and were discharged with 16, 23 and 30 days of hospitalization.
It must be taken into account that the study has its limitations, mainly the small number of babies identified: only four. The researchers admit that the rapid spread of the infection could lead to other cases of newborns with COVID-19 that they could not track.
Dr. Zhi-Jiang Zhang, author of the study, notes that “it is encouraging that newborns and infants appear to be less vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 . On the other hand, mild or no symptoms in the very young make it more difficult to detect and prevent contagion. “
On the transmission of the virus in the uterus, he said: “COVID-19 is highly contagious and our study suggests that intrauterine transmission cannot be ruled out, but that the prognosis is good for both pregnant women and newborns.”
Vía | Science Daily
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