An unborn baby has died in Israel from COVID-19, Ashdod hospital officials said Tuesday.
The death is the first of its kind in Israel and a rare event in the world, health officials say.
The mother of the 29-year-old baby was sent to Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod over the weekend when she was in the 25th week of her pregnancy, after she was told there was no fetal transplant.
In tests performed two weeks earlier, she was found to be pregnant with a baby and the fetus showed no signs of anxiety.
When she was admitted to hospital, she was diagnosed with the virus and her fetus had already died. The woman was under “silent birth” in hospital.
Her unborn baby has been diagnosed with the virus and doctors say they are blaming his death for the disease.
“I was as careful as I could to avoid infection,” said the mother. “Getting the coronavirus vaccine is important to save our loved ones. I am grateful to the medical teams who did their best and were supportive. ”
Dr Tal Brosh, head of the Infectious Diseases Department in Assuta, said this was a rare case.
“We rarely see a fetus infected with COVID-19,” he said. “There are very few such recorded cases in the world, with some reported in Brazil. We have had three silent births of women who were infected with the virus but did not find the unborn babies. the disease before this case, “he said.
Brosh said pregnant women are at high risk for COVID-19 complications. “The virus can enter the fetus and cause its death. If its mother had been vaccinated in the first or second trimester, this could have been avoided,” he said.
Dr Josef Tovbin, head of the Labor and Delivery Ward in Assuta who treated the woman, said the fetus was contagious while in the womb, “which reinforces our view that he died from the disease. “
Hospitals do not have to test for coronavirus in women who are about to give birth, he said, but he recommends that tests like this be done to ensure the health of the rest of the body. patients.