- Traces of SARS-CoV-2 were also detected in tissue samples taken from the placenta, amnion, and umbilical cord.
- The researchers found that most of the samples with signs of hemorrhaging were from the late first and early second trimester of gestation.
- The researchers studied 661 human fetal tissue samples collected between July 2020 and April 2022.
A new research has found that COVID-19 can impact not just our bodies, but even the bodies of still-gestating babies. Researchers have found evidence of the virus in fetal brain tissue in instances of pregnant people passing the infection to their developing babies.
About the study
The researchers studied 661 human fetal tissue samples collected between July 2020 and April 2022. All the samples were collected from electively terminated pregnancies.
They observed hemorrhages in 26 of them. Researchers found that in all of the tissue samples with evidence of hemorrhaging, COVID-19 was present. The research has been published in the journal Brain.
Impact of COVID-19 on the fetus
Researchers found signs of a reduction in blood vessel integrity and an increase in immune cells infiltrating the brain as being linked to tissue damage.
This could be a direct result of COVID-19 infection or an indirect result of the mother’s immune response.
It is not very clear whether the hemorrhaging was a direct consequence of the mother’s COVID or the fetus’s infection.
Traces of SARS-CoV-2 were also detected in tissue samples taken from the placenta, amnion, and umbilical cord. This indicates that there’s the potential for further complications due to COVID-19.
Researchers raise concern
“While hemorrhages do occasionally occur in developing brains, it is extremely unusual for there to be this many instances within a 21-month period,” says neurobiologist Katie Long from King’s College London in the UK.
“It is now of the utmost importance that we follow up with children that were prenatally exposed to COVID-19 so that we can establish if there are any long-lasting neurodevelopmental effects,” Long added.
When is the fetus infected?
The researchers found that most of the samples with signs of hemorrhaging were from the late first and early second trimester of gestation.
This shows that the fetal brain can be affected at the earliest stages of its development, which is a crucial time for the developing brain.
Need to vaccinate against COVID
“We know that severe viral infection may influence the fetal brain, but this important study is the first to suggest that this may occur in pregnancies affected by COVID infection,” says physiologist Lucilla Poston from King’s College London, who was not involved in the study.
“Whatever the cause, a direct effect of the virus or an indirect consequence of maternal infection, this study highlights the need for pregnant women to be vaccinated against COVID-19, thus avoiding complications for both mother and baby,” Poston highlights.
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Source: Times of India
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