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Review
. 2020 Jun:139:103122.
doi: 10.1016/j.jri.2020.103122. Epub 2020 Mar 19.

Why are pregnant women susceptible to COVID-19? An immunological viewpoint

Hong Liu  1 , Li-Ling Wang  1 , Si-Jia Zhao  1 , Joanne Kwak-Kim  2 , Gil Mor  3 , Ai-Hua Liao  4
Affiliations
Review

Why are pregnant women susceptible to COVID-19? An immunological viewpoint

Hong Liu et al. J Reprod Immunol. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first detected in December 2019 and became epidemic in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. COVID-19 has been rapidly spreading out in China and all over the world. The virus causing COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 has been known to be genetically similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) but distinct from it. Clinical manifestation of COVID-19 can be characterized by mild upper respiratory tract infection, lower respiratory tract infection involving non-life threatening pneumonia, and life-threatening pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome. It affects all age groups, including newborns, to the elders. Particularly, pregnant women may be more susceptible to COVID-19 since pregnant women, in general, are vulnerable to respiratory infection. In pregnant women with COVID-19, there is no evidence for vertical transmission of the virus, but an increased prevalence of preterm deliveries has been noticed. The COVID-19 may alter immune responses at the maternal-fetal interface, and affect the well-being of mothers and infants. In this review, we focused on the reason why pregnant women are more susceptible to COVID-19 and the potential maternal and fetal complications from an immunological viewpoint.

Keywords: COVID-19; Immunity; Maternal-fetal interface; Placenta; Pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest We declare no competing interests of the auhtors.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Confirmed Cases in China by Province.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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