Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Aug 31;12(8):e10171.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.10171.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Neonates - What Is Known and What Needs to Be Known

Manas Nayak  1 , Santosh Panda  1 , Janaki Ballav Pradhan  1 , Nirmal K Mohakud  2
Affiliations
Review

Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Neonates - What Is Known and What Needs to Be Known

Manas Nayak et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) first broke out in Wuhan, China, and subsequently spread worldwide affecting all ages including newborns. The cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are very less in neonates and they recover well with supportive treatment. Though the vertical transmission of infection is scarcely found, to get rid of acquiring infection by horizontal transmission one should screen all pregnant women and ensure standard infection control measures and monitoring of newborns at risk of COVID-19. Neonates may present as a refusal to feed, feeding intolerance, fever, pneumonia, shortness of breath, and lethargic. Based on available evidence, antivirals like lopinavir, ritonavir, remdesivir specific medication like chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, corticosteroids, and intravenous gamma globulin, are not recommended, so early detection and supportive treatment is needed for an optimal outcome.

Keywords: covid-19; newborn; sars cov-2; vertical transmission.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

References

    1. WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Cucinotta D, Vanelli M. Acta bio-medica. 2020;91:157–160. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during pregnancy: a case series. Liu W, Wang Q, Zhang Q, et al. https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202002.0373/v1 Preprints. 2020
    1. Clinical characteristics and intrauterine vertical transmission potential of COVID-19 infection in nine pregnant women: a retrospective review of medical records. Chen H, Guo J, Wang C, et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30360-3. Lancet. 2020;395:809–815. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Delivery in pregnant women infected with SARS‐CoV‐ 2: a fast review. Parazzini F, Bortolus R, Mauri Mauri, PA PA, et al. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2020;150:41–46. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Viral infections during pregnancy. Silasi M, Cardenas I, Kwon JY, Racicot K, Aldo P, Mor G. Am J Reproduct Immunol. 2015;73:199–213. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources