Newborn babies with COVID-19 may have only mild illness, mostly with fever
Worried about your newborn babies
amidst the COVID-19 pandemic? The finding of a new study may give you some relief. A
report from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has shown
that infants under 90 days of age who tested positive for COVID-19 tend to be
well, with little or no respiratory symptoms. Fever was often found to be the
primary or only symptom in newborn babies infected with the novel coronavirus, noted the study, published in
The Journal of Pediatrics.
“While there is limited data on
infants with COVID-19 from the United States, our findings suggest that these
babies mostly have mild illness and may not be at higher risk of severe disease as initially
reported from China,” said lead author Leena B. Mithal, paediatric infectious
diseases expert from Lurie Children’s and Assistant Professor of Paediatrics at
Northwestern University, US.
The researchers also found that none
of the infants who were admitted to the hospital’s general inpatient service
required oxygen, respiratory support, or intensive care. Despite mild clinical
illness, the infants had notably high viral loads in their nasal specimens. However,
Dr. Mithal is unclear whether young infants with fever and a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 require hospital admission. “The decision to admit to the hospital is based on
age, need for preemptive treatment of bacterial infection, clinical assessment,
feeding tolerance, and adequacy of follow-up,” she added.
Mithal believes there may be
opportunities to utilize rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing to determine disposition of
clinically well infants with fever.
How
to keep your little one safe during the pandemic
These are a few guidelines
recommended by health experts and health care organizations to protect your
baby from the COVID-19 virus.
Maintain social distancing: Instead of having friends and relatives visit your place to meet your baby, introduce your baby to them via video call. Because a study reveals that up to 45 per cent of coronavirus cases s are asymptomatic, that is the infected person show no symptoms.
Regularly clean your baby’s toys and gear: Health care agencies advise parents of newborns to regularly disinfect high-touch surfaces in their home and clean their baby’s toys and gear with warm water. Make sure to regularly clean your baby’s bottles, bedding and clothes as well.
Take precautionary measures while breastfeeding: Breastfeeding is good for your baby. It is more important to breastfeed your baby during the pandemic, says a study from the University of Pennsylvania. If breastfeeding mothers have any COVID-19 symptoms, the WHO advises that they should clean their breast pump and hands before going near the baby. They should also wear a mask while feeding the baby. Also, they shouldn’t forget to clean the breast pump with warm water after each use.