Covid-19: a child with antibodies is born in Singapore

She had returned from a trip to Europe with great fears. Céline Ng-Chan, 31, returned to Singapore last March infected with Covid-19. Pregnant, she wasn’t too worried about her son, after reading that cases of mother-to-child transmission seemed to be quite rare. He feared much more for his mother, who was also infected and approaching death.

It was a happy surprise when she gave birth to her son Aldrin in early November, Singaporean newspaper The Straits Time reports. Not only was the newborn not a carrier of the virus at birth, but above all he had antibodies against the coronavirus. “My pediatrician said that the antibodies I developed against Covid-19 are gone, but Aldrin [le nouveau-né] has some. My doctor assumes that I transferred my antibodies to him during pregnancy ”.

Scientists still know little about the risks and ways of transmitting the coronavirus from mother to child. But probably even less so on that of antibodies. As such, the case of Céline Ng-Chang may be of interest to more than one specialist. In particular, to determine the effective duration of protection of these newborns against a Covid-19 infection.

An interesting case for science

As for the transmission of the virus, the World Health Organization has so far not clearly decided the matter. “We do not yet know whether a pregnant woman with COVID-19 can transmit the virus to the fetus during pregnancy or to the baby during childbirth,” the WHO writes on its website.

“To date, the presence of the virus has not been observed in fluid samples in which the fetus bathes or in breast milk”, adds the WHO on its page dedicated to the virus, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.

Last March, Wuhan scientists conducted a study of 33 pregnant women infected with the novel coronavirus. Only three of them had passed the virus to their children. Results that remain difficult to exploit given the small sample size.

The World Health Organization does not provide any guidance on the address of pregnant women to protect themselves from Covid-19. The rules to be observed remain the same for everyone, namely compliance with hygiene rules and social distancing.