Annals of Global Health (Oct 2020)

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnant Women and Their Newborns

  • Melanie Etti,
  • Musa Sekikubo,
  • Victoria Nankabirwa,
  • Halvor Sommerfelt,
  • Bridget Freyne,
  • Kondwani Kawaza,
  • Gladys Gadama,
  • Kondwani Jambo,
  • Esperança Sevene,
  • Marleen Temmerman,
  • Laura A. Magee,
  • Peter von Dadelszen,
  • Asma Khalil,
  • Kirsty Le Doare,
  • WHO/HRP Alliance author group

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.3072
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 86, no. 1

Abstract

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There remain a number of uncertainties globally about the risks posed to women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy. Furthermore, our understanding of the spread of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa is limited, owing to low testing rates in many parts of the continent. PeriCOVID Africa, in conjunction with the WHO/HRP Alliance, plans to address these knowledge gaps by harnessing research infrastructures in place in five sub-Saharan African countries in order to screen more than 50,000 pregnant women and their infants for SARS-CoV-2, while monitoring pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. We anticipate that the results of this study will provide much needed information about the risks that SARS-CoV-2 poses to pregnant women and their babies, as well as establishing potential routes of mother-to-child transmission.