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Obstetrics

Possible Vertical Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 From an Infected Mother to Her Newborn

Educational Objective
To understand how COVID-19 can be transmitted from mother to infants during pregnancy and delivery

1 Credit CME

JAMA

Published Online: March 26, 2020

Research Letter

Article Information and Disclosures

Lan Dong, MD¹;

Jinhua Tian, MD¹;

Songming He, MD¹;

Chuchao Zhu, MD²;

Jian Wang, MD³;

Chen Liu, MD³;

Jing Yang, MD¹

Author Affiliations

¹Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Hospital of Central Command Theater in PLA, Wuhan, Hubei, China
³Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital to Army Medical University, Chongqing, China

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is highly infectious, with multiple possible routes of transmission.¹^- 3 Controversy exists regarding whether SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted in utero from an infected mother to her infant before birth. A series of 9 pregnant women found no mother-child transmission.⁴ We report a newborn with elevated IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 born to a mother with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

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Article Information

Corresponding Authors: Jing Yang, MD, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, 283 Jiefang Rd, Wuhan, Hubei 430060, China (13507182023@163.com); Chen Liu, MD, Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital to Army Medical University, 30 Gao Tan Yan St, Chongqing 400038, China (liuchen@aifmri.com).

Published Online: March 26, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.4621

Author Contributions: Drs Liu and Yang had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Drs Dong and Tian contributed equally to the study. Drs Liu and Yang contributed equally as senior authors.

Concept and design: Wang, Liu, Yang.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Dong, Tian, He, Zhu.

Drafting of the manuscript: Dong, Tian, He, Zhu, Liu.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Zhu, Wang, Liu, Yang.

Statistical analysis: Dong, Tian, He, Liu.

Obtained funding: Zhu, Wang, Liu, Yang.

Supervision: Zhu, Yang.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Funding/Support: This work was supported by the Chongqing Key technology and application demonstration of medical imaging depth intelligent diagnostic platform (cstc2018jszx-cyztzxX0017), the National Key Research and Development Project (2018YFC1002804, 2016YFC1000600), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81771618 and No. 81801524).

Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Additional Contributions: We thank the family members who were involved in this study and we thank the patient for granting permission to publish this information.

References

Wang W , Xu Y , Gao R , et al. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in different types of clinical specimens. JAMA. Published March 11, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.3786 Google Scholar

Woo PC , Lau SK , Wong BH , et al. Detection of specific antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus nucleocapsid protein for serodiagnosis of SARS coronavirus pneumonia. J Clin Microbiol. 2004;42(5):2306-2309. doi:10.1128/JCM.42.5.2306-2309.2004 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

Xu W , Li J , He X , et al. The diagnostic value of joint detection of serum IgM and IgG antibodies to 2019-nCoV in 2019-nCoV infection. Chinese J Lab Med. 2020;43(00):E012-E012. doi:10.3760/cma.j.cn114452-20200223-00109 Google Scholar

Chen H , Guo J , Wang C , et al. Clinical characteristics and intrauterine vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 infection in nine pregnant women: a retrospective review of medical records. Lancet. 2020;395(10226):809-815. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30360-3 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.