Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Milk From COVID-19 Positive Mothers and Follow-Up of Their Infants

Frontiers in Pediatrics

article

Enrico Bertino¹  Maria Francesca Campagnoli²  Antonella Soldi¹  Michael Mostert¹  Francesco Cresi¹  David Lembo³  Guido Eugenio Moro⁴  Giuseppe De Renzi⁵  Giuseppina Viberti⁵  Rossana Cavallo⁶  Alessandra Coscia¹  Carlotta Rubino¹  Paola Tonetto¹  Stefano Sottemano¹ 

[1] Neonatal Care Unit of the University, City of Health and Science Hospital;Neonatal Care Unit, City of Health and Science University Hospital of Turin;Laboratory of Molecular Virology, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin;Italian Association of Human Milk Banks;Laboratory of Clinical Pathology and Microbiology, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital;Department of Public Health and Pediatric Sciences, University of Turin;Microbiology and Virology Unit, City of Health and Science

关键词: breastfeeding;    human milk;    newborn;    COVID-19;    pandemic;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fped.2020.597699

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Background: In the current SARS-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic little is known about SARS-CoV-2 in human milk. It is important to discover if breast milk is a vehicle of infection. Objective: Our aim was to look for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the milk of a group of SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers from North-West Italy. Methods: This is a prospective collaborative observational study where samples of human milk from 14 breastfeeding mothers positive for SARS-CoV-2 were collected. A search of viral RNA in breast milk samples was performed by RT-PCR (Real-Time reverse-transcriptase-Polymerase-Chain-Reaction) methodology tested for human milk. All the newborns underwent a clinical follow up during the first month of life or until the finding of two sequential negative swabs. Results: In 13 cases the search for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in milk samples resulted negative and in one case it was positive. Thirteen of the 14 newborns were exclusively breastfed and closely monitored in the first month of life. Clinical outcome was uneventful. Four newborns tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and were all detected in the first 48 h of life, after the onset of maternal symptoms. Also the clinical course of these 4 infants, including the one who received mother's milk positive for SARS-CoV-2, was uneventful, and all of them became SARS-CoV-2 negative within 6 weeks of life. Conclusion: Our study supports the view that SARS-CoV-2 positive mothers do not expose their newborns to an additional risk of infection by breastfeeding.

【 授权许可】

CC BY