NEW Updates on Maternal and Child Health, Nutrition and COVID-19 – excerpts from scientific journal articles – 3 December 2020
Dear Colleagues,
We have updated our scientific repository (http://hopkinshumanitarianhealth.org/empower/advocacy/covid-19/covid-19-...).
Since our last update Thursday 19 November 2020, we have added 172 NEW publications for December (1 new), November (88 new), October (47 new), September (15 new), August (4 new), July (7 new), June (2 new), May (6 new) and April (2 new).
http://hopkinshumanitarianhealth.org/empower/advocacy/covid-19/covid-19-...
Individual months are located on the right-hand side, and new additions are marked in blue. To find the publication or topic of your interest, you can search in an individual month file using the Ctrl+F keys.
All publications provide emerging evidence related to COVID-19 and
* Child health (from neonates to adolescents)
* Maternal health (pregnant women, women of reproductive age)
* Breastfeeding and Infant feeding
* Nutrition (related to MCH)
In addition to several international reviews, this update provides emerging evidence from Italy, the United States, Greece, China, Brazil, France, Finland, Ghana, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Germany, Pakistan, India, the United Kingdom, Turkey, Australia, Malawi, Nepal, Uganda, Israel, Colombia, Canada, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Scotland, Iran, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Several articles focus on child and maternal nutrition concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food insecurity has been exacerbated worldwide by trade restrictions, lockdowns, and disrupted humanitarian aid. Rates of childhood hunger throughout the pandemic are expected to be especially high in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Studies from Italy and Indonesia evaluated appropriate complementary feeding practices of infants. Other studies noted reduced in-person lactation support as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eleven new articles in this update examine current evidence regarding vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Many articles warn that the absence of testing amniotic fluid, cord blood, placental tissue, and breast milk is preventing the comprehensive analysis of suspected vertical transmission cases. In the absence of placental tests, the presence of fetal IgM antibodies may provide additional clues. Another article proposes that testing maternal viral RNA load may aid in determining risk of transmission.
Fifty-one new articles discuss COVID-19 and pregnancy. In the last month alone, several newly added publications compared rates of hospitalization and ICU admission between pregnant and non-pregnant women with COVID-19. Another article compared international obstetric guidelines for the COVID-19 pandemic with regard to their timeliness, accessibility, completeness and consistency. One study noted differences in the efficacy of serological tests for SARS-CoV-2 between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Other topics include the relationship between serum zinc and copper levels and COVID-19 severity in pregnant women, the gastro-intestinal manifestations of COVID-19 in pregnancy, and the safe provision of assisted reproductive technology procedures and fertility treatments.
Fourteen articles were added concerning hyperinflammatory syndromes in children, such as MIS-C/PMIS and Kawasaki Disease (KD). Several articles detail the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics and outcomes associated with MIS-C. Others compare features of MIS-C with KD and toxic shock syndrome, noting differences in age distribution. Recommendations for the initial treatment and monitoring of MIS-C also include alternate management strategies according to each health facility’s level of care and available resources. Another study reveals racial and ethnic disparities in the rates of pediatric COVID-19 and MIS-C in the United States.
This is by no means an exhaustive list! Look out for our next weekly update Thursday, 10 December, 2020. Currently, we have nearly 3500 publications in the repository.
We also have a specific repository only on COVID-19, Breastfeeding, Infant Feeding, and Breast Milk (http://hopkinshumanitarianhealth.org/empower/advocacy/covid-19/covid-19-...).
The next update for that will be Friday, 4 December (tomorrow). If you know anyone who would benefit from these updates, please let me know.
Happy reading!
Mija Ververs
Mija-tesse VERVERS
Emergency Response and Recovery Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Atlanta
Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Baltimore
USA (+1) 443-707-9769 email: mververs@cdc.gov<mailto:mververs@cdc.gov> and mververs@jhu.edu<mailto:mververs@jhu.edu>
CHIFA profile: Mija Tesse Cora Ververs is a Health Scientist (CDC), Senior Associate (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, United States.
Email: mververs AT jhu.edu
