First Case Of Coronavirus In Newborn In China

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

A newborn in China was diagnosed with the coronavirus just 30 hours after he was born, local media reported.

The baby weighed 7.16 pounds at birth on Sunday, February 2, at the Union Hospital in Wuhan City, epicenter of the deadly virus that is currently spreading in various parts of the world.

According to reports from the state broadcaster CCTV, this case may be one of "vertical transmission", which corresponds to an infection that is passed from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or after the birth of the child.

"This reminds us that we must pay attention that a possible route of transmission of the coronavirus is from mother to child," said Dr. Zeng Lingkong, head of the hospital's neonatal medicine department, according to the agency on its website.

The Reuters news agency reported that although the baby was having difficulty breathing, he was in a stable situation, without fever or cough. The creature, he added, was under strict observation.

The Chinese National Health Commission revealed that the oldest person who has been diagnosed with the virus is 90 years old, and that 80 percent of the deaths reported there have been from people aged 60 and over.

Wuhan is the city where authorities say the virus started, which has killed almost 500 people and infected 24,324 people in that Asian country.

In Singapore, the health ministry also confirmed four other cases of infected people, including a six-month-old baby who is the son of a couple who also contracted the virus.