Researchers have identified a total of four cases of newborn babies with COVID-19 infection in China.
Researchers have identified a total of four cases of newborn babies with COVID-19 infection in China. In all cases the babies experienced only mild symptoms with none requiring intensive care or mechanical ventilation according to research published in the European Respiratory Journal (ERJ).
The study was carried out by Dr Zhi-Jiang Zhang and colleagues at Wuhan University in China. The team report that all four babies were born to mothers with COVID-19 and all were delivered by caesarean section. Three were separated from their mothers at birth.
The researchers say the rapid spread of the infection may mean there are other cases of newborns with COVID-19 that they were not able to track down.
Dr Zhang 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 newborn babies.”
Read more at European Lung Foundation
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