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A newly published study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that women who have given birth in New York City recently have contracted COVID-19, but were not showing symptoms.
The research, which was published April 13, looked at 215 births between March 22 and April 4 at the New York–Presbyterian Allen Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Nearly all of the women received nasal swabs and of the 33 who tested positive for COVID-19, 29 had no symptoms.
"Of the 29 women who had been asymptomatic but who were positive for SARS-CoV-2 on admission, fever developed in 3 (10%) before postpartum discharge (median length of stay, 2 days)," researchers wrote in the study. "Two of these patients received antibiotics for presumed endomyometritis (although 1 patient did not have localizing symptoms), and 1 patient was presumed to be febrile due to Covid-19 and received supportive care. One patient with a swab that was negative for SARS-CoV-2 on admission became symptomatic postpartum; repeat SARS-CoV-2 testing 3 days after the initial test was positive."
IF YOU THINK YOU HAD CORONAVIRUS, A NEW STUDY MIGHT GIVE YOU YOUR ANSWER
The researchers added that the first diagnosed case of COVID-19 in an obstetrical patient was from March 13. Two "initially asymptomatic [pregnant] women" were also previously discovered by the researchers.
The findings highlight a need for a universal testing approach, the researchers pointed out.
"The potential benefits of a universal testing approach include the ability to use Covid-19 status to determine hospital isolation practices and bed assignments, inform neonatal care, and guide the use of personal protective equipment," they wrote in the study. "Access to such clinical data provides an important opportunity to protect mothers, babies, and health care teams during these challenging times."
A separate study being conducted by the U.S. National Institutes of Health will attempt to figure out how many Americans have contracted the virus but were not diagnosed by looking for antibodies in their bloodstream.
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As of Tuesday morning, more than 1.93 million coronavirus cases have been diagnosed worldwide, including more than 582,000 in the U.S., the most impacted country on the planet.