Telangana witnessed the first ever case of vertical transmission of coronavirus infection from mother to the foetus after a neonate’s blood report showed up Covid antibodies score of 98 (Immunoglobulin-M (IgM) antibody 94.5 and IgG 2.6).
The new born baby is said to have grappled for 15-days and conquered the the post-Covid-19 complications at a children’s hospital in the city lately and is recuperating at home currently.
The newborn’s rare feat gave a ray of hope to the parents of the little one and doctors of the hospital. Reportedly, The baby was admitted at a city hospital with symptoms of multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), which generally occurs 4-6 weeks after Covid infection. However, it appeared by day 2 in the baby soon after the birth says experts.
Although cases of newborns contracting the viral infection have been detected, till date it was believed that the transmission did not happen antenatally (from mother to baby in the womb). In the recent second wave, 3-4 cases have been reported from Surat, Pune and Mumbai so far.
“The baby had presented with seizures on Day 2 and went into coma. We had to ventilate the baby for four days and discharged last week after 15 days of treatment. The baby is now at home on oxygen support. We had run antibody tests thrice on the baby and each time it returned positive for the IM antibodies,”said Dr Satish Ghanta, neonatologist and paediatric intensivist, Little Stars Children’s Hospital.