A baby born with coronavirus in Peru is the world’s second case of this kind, say medics. The neonate contracted the virus through the placenta when he was in the womb of his mother. Yet the mum had not shown signs of COVID-19
and had no idea that she was carrying the disease. During hospital examinations, doctors are said to have found that
both mum and baby had coronavirus when the results returned positive. The baby boy is said to do “well” after he was born yesterday at the Alto Mayo hospital in Moyobamba, northern San Martin region of the country, by C-section.
The couple has been quarantined at the hospital and the mum’s friends and family who have been in close touch with her over the past few weeks will be checked. A regional health organization’s CEO, Alvaro Bardalez, identified the newborn as the first child to be born with coronavirus in Peru, and the only second in the world. This comes after a baby born in England last month tested positive for coronavirus. Mr. Bardalez said: “The mother and her baby boy are stable and doing well.“The newborn has a good weight for his age and is drinking his mother’s milk. He’s okay.”
He added: “The mum came to the hospital for a programmed caesarian and we only discovered she had coronavirus when she was tested just before giving birth.
“She had no symptoms that indicated she had COVID-19.
“Part of the protocol we’re following is that she’s wearing a face mask at all times.”
A newborn baby emerged in England last month, then identified as the world’s youngest survivor, having tested for coronavirus positively. The mother of the boy with suspected pneumonia had been rushed to a London hospital days earlier. The mum was checked at North Middlesex Hospital but it was only after birth that her positive result was identified. The baby was checked just minutes from arrival. After the case emerged, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust said:
“Two patients at North Middlesex University Hospital tested positive for coronavirus.
“One was moved to a specialist center and one in an isolation room is being handled.”
Yesterday, Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, 28, was called a heavily pregnant nurse who died with coronavirus following the birth of her daughter by C-section. Mary died on Easter Sunday in Luton and Dunstable Hospital. This is not yet clear if her infant daughter has coronavirus, sometimes named Mary.
Peru’s Ministry of Health said the country’s number of reported coronavirus cases stood at 11,475 and COVID-19 deaths at 254. For the 1,113 still hospitalized, up to 150 are in intensive care.