CHENNAI: An ongoing study on vertical transmission of Covid-19 suggests that the possibility of transmission of the virus in-utero or through breast milk is low. The study is being conducted by the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Government Hospital for Women and Children in Egmore along with the King Institute in Guindy.
“The study was started to see if Covid spreads from mother to baby in-utero or through breast milk. On the day of delivery, we take four samples for testing - amniotic fluid, placenta swab, baby’s nasal swab and umbilical cord blood. On the third day we send a sample of the breast milk and another sample from the nasal swab of the baby,” said Dr S Vijaya, Director, Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Egmore.
The study, which was initiated in July with ethics committee clearance, will continue till the last Covid case is reported at the Institute. Dr Vijaya, said, “So far the breast milk sample from one patient and the placenta swab from another patient have tested positive for the SARS-CoV2 virus that causes Covid.
While three babies (unrelated to the mothers whose swabs were positive) tested positive for the virus on the first day, nasal swab tests on the third and fifth day were negative,” she said. “Similarly, when we tested the breast milk and placenta of the two patients respectively on the fifth day it was negative. So, these could be cases of false positives, sample contamination or improper collection of samples,” Dr Vijaya added.
“Unless we have a decent number of breast milk samples or placenta swabs testing positive, we won’t be able to say whether the transmission is through breast milk or in utero,” she explained, adding that based on the findings the possibility of transmission through those routes seemed low. As 46 babies tested positive on the third day, Dr Vijaya said that this suggests contact transmission rather than transmission in-utero or breast milk.
These are the samples
So far, samples of amniotic fluid, placenta swab, and breast milk drawn from 548 mothers with Covid as well as samples from umbilical cord blood and nasal swabs of their babies have been tested.
November 02, 2020 at 05:28AM
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‘Infection from breast milk is low’ - The New Indian Express
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Milk
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