Probable viremia and positive placental swabs for SARS‐CoV‐2 in a preterm pregnant woman with mild COVID‐19

Abstract

This study aimed to report a case of mild novel coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) in a pregnant woman with probable viremia, as reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) testing of endometrial and placental swabs for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) was positive. A 26‐year‐old multigravida at 35 weeks 2 days of gestation, who had extensive thigh and abdominal cellulitis, tested SARS‐CoV‐2 positive by RT‐PCR performed on samples from the endometrium and maternal side of the placenta. However, other samples (amniotic fluid, fetal side of the placenta, umbilical cord, maternal vagina, and neonatal nasopharynx) tested negative for SARS‐CoV‐2. This is one of the rare reports of probable SARS‐CoV‐2 viremia with the presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 in the endometrium and placenta, but not leading to vertical transmission and neonatal infection. Because knowledge about transplacental transmission and results is very limited, we conclude that more RT‐PCR tests on placental and cord blood samples are needed in order to safely make definite conclusions.