• About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Login
    • ObGFirst
  • Alerts
  • OB
  • 2T US Atlas
  • The Genome
  • GYN
    • GYN
    • Sexual Health
  • Primary Care
  • Your Practice
  • GrandRounds
  • My Bookshelf
  • COVID-19
About Us Contact Us Login ObGFirst
  • Alerts
  • OB
  • 2T US Atlas
  • The Genome
  • GYN
    • GYN
    • Sexual Health
  • Primary Care
  • Your Practice
  • GrandRounds
  • My Bookshelf
  • COVID-19
COVID-19 and Women’s Health

Can SARS-CoV-2 Vertical Transmission Occur in Asymptomatic Pregnancies?

image_pdfFavoriteLoadingFavorite

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: 

  • Based on the WHO’s new criteria, vertical transmission is considered to have occurred if  
    • The mother is SARS-CoV-2 positive from 14 days before until 2 days after delivery 
    • The virus is detected in amniotic fluid, the placenta, or the neonate within the first 24 hours postpartum 
    • There is a viral presence in the neonate beyond 24 hours 
  • Sevilla-Montoya et al. (Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2021) investigated the possibility of vertical transmission in asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-positive women using the WHO criteria 

METHODS: 

  • Cohort study 
  • Population  
    • Hospitalized for delivery 
    • Positive SARS-CoV-2 test 24 to 48 hours prior to delivery 
    • Asymptomatic at the time of the test 
    • Had an obstetric indication for cesarean 
  • Study design 
    • Amniotic fluid was collected during cesarean, and neonatal oral and rectal swabs were collected at birth and 24 hours after birth 
  • Primary outcome 
    • Vertical transmission, as defined by WHO criteria 

RESULTS: 

  • 42 SARS-CoV-2 positive, asymptomatic women 
  • Mothers who developed mild disease after discharge: 59% 
  • Neonatal death: 7% (3 cases) 
    • Neonate SARS-CoV-2 positive at birth: 1 
    • Neonate had COVID-19 symptoms: zero 
  • Cases with strong evidence of vertical transmission: 5 of 7 cases (11.9%)  
    • Amniotic fluid and neonatal samples were positive at birth and at 24 hours after birth 
    • 40 to 60% of infected neonates would not have been detected if only one swab (oral or rectal) was tested 
  • Passive immunity 
    • IgG transfer from mother to neonate observed in 50% of cases in which maternal IgG was detected 

CONCLUSION: 

  • Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 vertical transmission, as defined by the WHO, was found even in asymptomatic women 
  • The authors state 

In conclusion, our data support that intrauterine transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is possible even in asymptomatic women. 

Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in both oral and rectal neonatal swabs improves considerably the detection rate, as compared with when only one swab is tested 

Learn More – Primary Sources: 

Evidence of possible SARS-CoV-2 vertical transmission according to World Health Organization criteria in asymptomatic pregnant women 

image_pdfFavoriteLoadingFavorite
< Previous
All COVID-19 and Women’s Health Posts
Next >

Related ObG Topics:

Vertical Transmission in Pregnancies with Confirmed COVID-19
Neonatal Infection: COVID-19 and Risk for Vertical Transmission
COVID-19 and Vertical Transmission: Best Practices and Subsequent Outcomes

Sections

  • Alerts
  • OB
  • GYN
    • GYN
    • Sexual Health
  • 2T US Atlas
  • The Genome
  • Primary Care
  • Your Practice
  • Grand Rounds
  • My Bookshelf
  • COVID-19

Are you an
ObG Insider?

Get specially curated clinical summaries delivered to your inbox every week for free

  • Site Map/
  • © ObG Project/
  • Terms and Conditions/
  • Privacy/
  • Contact Us/
© ObG Project
SSL Certificate


  • Already an ObGFirst Member?
    Welcome back

    Log In

    Want to sign up?
    Get guideline notifications
    CME Included

    Sign Up

Sign In

Lost your password?

Sign Up for ObGFirst and Stay Ahead

  • - Professional guideline notifications
  • - Daily summary of a clinically relevant
    research paper
  • - Includes 1 hour of CME every month

ObGFirst Free Trial

Already a Member of ObGFirst®?

Please log in to ObGFirst to access the 2T US Atlas

Password Trouble?

Not an ObGFirst® Member Yet?

  • - Access 2T US Atlas
  • - Guideline notifications
  • - Daily research paper summaries
  • - And lots more!
ObGFirst Free Trial

Media - Internet

Computer System Requirements

OBG Project CME requires a modern web browser (Internet Explorer 10+, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge). Certain educational activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of their content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Flash, Apple QuickTime, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft PowerPoint, Windows Media Player, or Real Networks Real One Player.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information
presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications and/or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.

Jointly provided by

NOT ENOUGH CME HOURS

It appears you don't have enough CME Hours to take this Post-Test. Feel free to buy additional CME hours or upgrade your current CME subscription plan

Subscribe

JOIN OBGFIRST AND GET CME/CE CREDITS

One of the benefits of an ObGFirst subscription is the ability to earn CME/CE credits from the ObG entries you read. Tap the button to learn more about ObGFirst

Learn More
Leaving ObG Website

You are now leaving the ObG website and on your way to PRIORITY at UCSF, an independent website. Therefore, we are not responsible for the content or availability of this site