COVID caused brain damage in 2 infants infected during pregnancy -US study
Previously, no direct evidence of COVID-19 in a mother's placenta was ever found
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Researchers at the University of Miami reported on Thursday what they believe are the first two confirmed cases in which the SARS-CoV-2 virus crossed a mother's placenta and caused brain damage in the infants they were carrying.
Doctors previously had suspected this was possible, but until now, there was no direct evidence of COVID-19 in a mother's placenta or an infant's brain, the team said. However, we have found evidence of the virus in both mothers' placentas, the team added.
The babies were born to young mothers who tested positive for the virus during their second trimester at the height of the pandemic's Delta wave in 2020, before vaccines were available. The case studies were published in the journal Pediatrics.
Several viruses are known to be capable of crossing the placenta and causing fetal brain damage, including Cytomegalovirus, Rubella, HIV and Zika. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been detected in adult brain tissue, and some experts had suspected it could also damage fetal brain tissue.
The newborns had seizures from the first day of life. However, the babies were not born with microcephaly, a condition marked by small head size. Instead, microcephaly developed over time as their brains stopped growing at a normal rate, the team said.
Both infants had severe developmental delays. One of the children died at 13 months, and the other was in hospice care, the team said.
An autopsy of the child's brain who died revealed COVID virus in the brain, suggesting direct infection caused the injuries,
As for the mothers, although both tested positive for the virus, one woman had only mild symptoms and carried the baby full term while the other was so sick that doctors had to deliver the baby at 32 weeks of gestation.
The team also urged women who were considering pregnancy to get vaccinated against COVID, and said pregnant women should consider vaccination.
