According to state media, a baby has been detected with coronavirus just 30 hours after birth following a woman who had tested positive for the coronavirus gave birth in the epicenter city of Wuhan, China.

On Wednesday, doctors at the Wuhan Children’s Hospital cited the case as evidence that pregnant women infected with the virus can possibly pass the virus to their unborn children.

According to Agence France-Presse, the infant, who was born on Sunday, is the youngest person recorded to be infected with the coronavirus, which has killed almost 500 people and infected 24,324. Experts have quoted that the infected baby could be a case of “vertical transmission,” referring to infections passed from mother to child during pregnancy or childbirth or thereafter.

The newborn’s condition is stable and has no fever or cough, but was suffering shortness of breath, as per the doctors. The baby’s chest X-rays showed signs of infection with some abnormalities in liver functions.

According to Reuters, Dr. Zeng Lingkong, head of the hospital’s neonatal medicine department, said that special attention should be taken as mother-to-child can be a possible route of coronavirus transmission. The hospital had also disclosed details of another baby who was born healthy on January 13. The infant’s nanny was later diagnosed with the virus and the mother few days later. And the baby began to show symptoms on January 29.

Zeng said that whether it was the baby’s nanny who passed the virus to the mother who passed it to the baby, they are not sure. But they confirm that the baby was in close contact with patients infected with the coronavirus and hence got infected too. He further said that none of the infected infants were in critical condition.

On Tuesday, China’s National Health Commission said that the oldest person diagnosed with the virus is a 90-year-old, and about 80 percent of reported deaths have been of people age 60 years and above. Till Wednesday, the death toll stood at 490 from coronavirus.

Source: New York Post