E-Paper
Pune’s Sassoon reports case of vertical transmission of Sars-Cov-2 virus from mother to new-born
The baby girl was delivered by the 22-year-old mother at the hospital on May 27
BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital in the city has reported a case of vertical transmission of Sars-Cov-2 virus which causes the Covid-19 infection, from a mother to her baby, which doctors claim is the first such case in the country.
The baby girl was delivered by the 22-year-old mother at the hospital on May 27.
Vertical transmission involves the passing of the virus from a female vector to her offspring, both males and females.
According to officials of the hospital, although the mother had tested negative for the virus in the RT-PCR test, the virus was detected in the baby’s nasopharyngeal swab, placenta and umbilical cord, which confirmed that the transmission was vertical.
Dr Aarti Kinikar, head, paediatric department, said, “We had tested the mother for Sars-Cov-2 virus which causes the Covid-19 infection through RT-PCR and she had tested negative. The baby, however, started showing symptoms like fever, lethargy and other signs of Covid-19, along with abnormal blood tests suggesting severe inflammation. The baby required intensive care, but recovered completely over a period of three weeks.”
“The mother had a fever the day before the delivery and also signs of weakness which we presumed to be due to pregnancy,” she said.
She further said, “Although she tested negative for the virus, she did transmit the infection in the child. However, after four weeks when we did an antibodies test, there was evidence of Covid-19 infection by a strong antibody response. It is possible that she recovered on her own. This was a very challenging case for us.”
Dr Kinikar added that such confirmed cases have been reported in some cases in China and one case in the UK.
Dr Murlidhar Tambe, dean, Sassoon General Hospital, said, “This is the first case report of vertical transmission from India. I congratulate the faculty and team members from all the concerned departments who have worked hard to treat the baby and the mother.”
In an official statement, the hospital stated that the impact of Covid-19 in pregnant women and babies is still not known to the full extent. Vertical infection is well documented in the Zika virus and HIV.
