New research from the University of Miami suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can cross the placenta and cause brain damage in fetuses.
According to the study, published in the journal Pediatrics, two cases were identified in which the virus was confirmed to have caused brain damage in infants carried by mothers who tested positive for COVID-19 in their second trimester, before vaccines were widely available.
While doctors had previously suspected that this was possible, there was no direct evidence until now.
Dr. Michael Paidas, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami said, “This is the first time that we’ve been able to demonstrate the virus in a fetal organ with transplacental passage.”
Both infants had seizures from the first day of life, and while they were not born with microcephaly, they developed the condition over time as their brains stopped growing at a normal rate.
The team said that both infants had severe developmental delays, with one child dying at 13 months and the other in hospice care.
The study also found evidence of the virus in both mothers’ placentas, and an autopsy of the child’s brain who died revealed COVID virus in the brain, suggesting direct infection caused the injuries.
Dr. Merline Benny, a neonatologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami, said that although neither of the infants tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, they did have high levels of COVID antibodies in their blood, indicating that the virus had crossed from the mother, through the placenta, and to the baby.
The team emphasized the importance of women who have been infected during their pregnancies informing their children’s pediatricians to check for developmental delays.
An obstetrician and gynecologist at the University of Miami, Dr. Shahnaz Duara, added, “We know that things can be fairly subtle up to seven or eight years of age, until kids go to school.”
The researchers also urged women who are considering pregnancy to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and said that pregnant women should consider vaccination.
Tags: COVID-19
