Cuban experts study antibodies against SARS CoV-2 in newborns

CIENFUEGOS, Cuba, Mar 22 (ACN) Experts from the Dr. Gustavo Aldereguia Lima Hospital in Cienfuegos(central Cuba), along with the Finlay Vaccine Institute, are advancing in a study whose preliminary results prove the transfer of antibodies against SARS CoV-2 to newborns born to infected and immunized mothers.

Dr. Arturo Perez de Villamil, a second-degree specialist in Neonatology and in charge of the research at this hospital, explained to the Cuban News Agency that for the selection of the participants they first took into account women infected with the virus and at a second stage they included those who were vaccinated, even with the booster dose, and the offspring of the participants.

He indicated that for this purpose they take blood samples from the umbilical cord of the newborn and from the complementary tests performed on the mother, as well as from the mother's milk 24 hours after the birth, and then send them to the Finlay laboratories.

With the first observations, the consulting professor pointed out, they saw the transfer of immunoglobulin G (IgG) to the fetus, transferred through the placenta during pregnancy and through the maternal fluid.

Perez de Villamil emphasized that the objective is to check how long the antibody titers are maintained, as well as their duration in breast milk.

We have managed to immunize children from two to 18 years of age, but we still have the group of children up to two years of age, hence the relevance of the research, the specialist added.

To date, we have about 60 cases registered, but we will continue advancing until we reach the necessary number of participants according to the statistical model, which is also under study, the expert continued.

We still need to check, between four and six months, whether the newborn retains the defenses absorbed from the mother and whether the mother's milk still maintains the antibodies during that period, Perez de Villamil concluded.

Several international studies also show the transfer of antibodies from vaccinated mothers to newborns.

Cienfuegos has a long tradition of scientific collaboration with the Finlay Institute, from the clinical trials and intervention of the anti-pneumococcal vaccine to the most recent ones with Soberana Centro and Soberana Plus Pediatrics, to test the efficacy of these immunogens against the novel coronavirus.