A pregnant woman in the United States has tested positive for monkeypox, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The woman has since given birth to her child, who does not appear to have contracted the virus that causes rashes from her mother.
The CDC revealed little information about the case, including the woman’s home state. Additionally, it is unknown when the lady was infected or when she gave birth.
The two patients were stated to be ‘doing well by health officials, but the nation’s leading infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned on Tuesday that pregnant women may face a ‘grave risk’ from the virus.
A physician specializing in obstetrics told that women in the earliest stages of pregnancy were at the most risk for monkeypox. As the mother recently gave birth, she may have been in the last stages of pregnancy while infected.
The infant received immunological globin, an injection of antibodies able to combat infections such as monkeypox, according to officials. It is unclear what kind of care the mother received.
It is the first illness to be found in a pregnant woman in the United States, following last week’s detection of the first two cases in youngsters. The unconnected pediatric cases were discovered in California and Washington, D.C.
There are currently 3,591 confirmed cases of monkeypox in the United States, the second largest outbreak in the world behind Spain’s 3,738 cases.
Dr. John Brooks, chief medical officer for the CDC’s monkeypox response, disclosed the case during a Saturday webinar with the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Brooks stated, “There has been a case of a pregnant woman giving birth.”
‘The neonate received IG preventatively’ (immune globin given to prevent disease). Both mother and child are healthy.
In an interview yesterday, Fauci, the nation’s foremost authority on infectious diseases, cautioned that pregnant women are among those at increased risk for monkeypox.
He stated to NPR, “We need to understand the mode of transmission, the symptoms, and the risk for youngsters and pregnant women.” There is a significant risk.
Thankfully, there are just two reported cases of measles in children at this time, but they are all among communities at risk.
Dr. Daniel Roshan, an expert in maternal-fetal medicine at Rosh Maternal and Fetal Medicine in New York, told that pregnant women and their babies faced the greatest risk from monkeypox during the first trimester because the baby’s organs were still developing, thereby increasing the risk of birth defects.
In the later stages, he said, babies are more susceptible to contracting the virus due to increased blood flow but are less likely to be born with birth abnormalities because most organs have fully grown.
He told, “If they contract the virus in the first ten weeks of pregnancy when the fetus is just beginning to grow, the risk of congenital defects is higher.”
In the third trimester, however, there is increased blood flow from the placenta to the fetus, making it easier to contract the virus.
Women who contract monkeypox during pregnancy can transmit it to their unborn children via the placenta. It can also be transmitted after birth by intimate contacts, such as cuddling, and there is a possibility of transmission through breastmilk.
To combat the infection, immunological globin will be supplied to a pregnant lady who has contracted monkeypox, according to Roshan.
Roshan stated that the parent became sick through close touch with an infected patient when asked how the parent became infected.
He advised pregnant women to adhere to “normal protocol” to avoid infection. He stated, “I would say they should be cautious with the contact.” Avoid people with rashes or fever, and practice good personal hygiene.
The CDC recommends washing newborns of pregnant women with wipes and soapy water immediately after birth.
In guidance released this week, they add that physicians should then decide whether to administer a vaccine or an antiviral to a child.
Afterward, infants must be observed for 21 days, during which they must be cared for by a caregiver or family member, to verify they have not contracted the virus.
Mothers infected with monkeypox should avoid their children until all sores caused by the virus have crusted over and the scabs have come off.
Infections with monkeypox in pregnant women have historically caused miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, and infection in the womb, according to medical literature.
However, it is unclear how often this occurs because so few pregnant women have been infected in the past.
In a 2017 study that followed four pregnant women with the condition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two miscarriages and one fetal fatality were observed.
The now-eradicated cousin of monkeypox, smallpox, was likewise more severe in pregnant women.
The CDC said last week that the first two cases of monkeypox in the United States had been identified in youngsters as the virus spreads to other populations.
One is a child from California, while the other was traveling through Washington, D.C. when the case was identified. They had no interaction with one another.
It is believed that both toddlers contracted the virus from “household contacts,” which includes their family members and guests.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, stated that both youngsters had contact with gay or bisexual men, the community where the majority of the current outbreak’s cases have been identified.
They have been administered the antiviral TPOXX, which can halt infection by interfering with the development of the virus.
Until now, nearly all monkeypox infections have affected gay or bisexual men.
However, a leading researcher has cautioned that the virus has likely already spread to other populations, but has not yet been found due to a lack of testing.
The World Health Organization advises that pregnant women have an increased risk of contracting monkeypox.
Studies indicate that between three and ten percent of afflicted youngsters succumb to monkeypox, depending on the strain they contract.
