Early in the pandemic, Yale researchers demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, could infect the placenta during acute maternal illness - a condition known as COVID-19 placentitis that was linked in some cases to inflammation and pregnancy complications.
For a new study, the researchers asked a critical follow-up question: Does the virus remain in placental tissue after the mother recovers? Writing in the journal JAMA Network Open, they report that the answer is no, offering important reassurance for clinicians and patients alike.
"Our study reassures pregnant patients that if they become infected with COVID during their pregnancy, the placenta won't become a reservoir for the virus," said Harvey Kliman, a research scientist in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and senior author of the study.
