SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnant Women and Their Newborns

Ann Glob Health. 2020 Oct 8;86(1):132. doi: 10.5334/aogh.3072.

Abstract

There remain a number of uncertainties globally about the risks posed to women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy. Furthermore, our understanding of the spread of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited, owing to low testing rates in many parts of the continent. PeriCOVID Africa, in conjunction with the WHO/HRP Alliance, plans to address these knowledge gaps by harnessing research infrastructures in place in five sub-Saharan African countries in order to screen more than 50,000 pregnant women and their infants for SARS-CoV-2, while monitoring pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. We anticipate that the results of this study will provide much needed information about the risks that SARS-CoV-2 poses to pregnant women and their babies, as well as establishing potential routes of mother-to-child transmission.

Publication types

  • Letter
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Africa South of the Sahara / epidemiology
  • COVID-19
  • Communicable Disease Control / methods*
  • Coronavirus Infections* / epidemiology
  • Coronavirus Infections* / prevention & control
  • Coronavirus Infections* / transmission
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant Health
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / prevention & control*
  • Pandemics* / prevention & control
  • Pneumonia, Viral* / epidemiology
  • Pneumonia, Viral* / prevention & control
  • Pneumonia, Viral* / transmission
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious* / epidemiology
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious* / prevention & control
  • Research Design
  • Risk Assessment / methods*
  • Risk Factors
  • Women's Health