Covid Caused Brain Damage in 2 Babies

Covid Caused Brain Damage in 2 Babies Affected During Pregnancy

Electron microscope image of the virus that causes Covid-19.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus crossed a mother's placenta and caused brain damage in the children she was carrying, according to researchers at the University of Miami. These two cases are thought to be the first two verified instances of this happening. Although doctors had previously assumed this was possible, there had been no conclusive proof of Covid-19 in a mother's placenta or an infant's brain up to this point. In 2020, during the peak of the Delta wave of the pandemic, babies were born to young women who tested positive for the virus during their second trimester before vaccines were available. From their first day of life, the babies had seizures. The infants, unlike Zika, did not have microcephaly, a disorder characterized by a tiny head size. Instead, the researchers found that as their brains stopped developing normally over time, microcephaly gradually set in. Both newborns have significant developmental deficiency. The team reported that one baby died at the age of 13 months and the other was receiving hospice care. Dr. Merline Benny, a neonatologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami, informed the briefing that although none of the children had tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, their blood did have significant levels of Covid antibodies. She said that shows the virus may have spread from the mother to the infant via the placenta. The team discovered signs of the virus in the placentas of both mothers. The Covid virus was found in the child's brain during an autopsy, which suggests that the damage was caused by a direct infection. Although both of the mothers tested positive for the virus, only one experienced moderate symptoms and gave birth to a healthy baby at the full term, while the other was so ill that the baby had to be delivered at 32 weeks of gestation. Despite the rarity of these occurrences, pregnant women who have the infection have been urged to check for developmental delays.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-caused-brain-damage-2-babies-infected-pregnancy-rcna78701