A premature newborn born to an adolescent girl with acute Ebola virus disease and malaria survives in a resource ‐limited setting in an Ebola treatment unit in DR Congo: “A case report”

Key Clinical MessageIn the acute phase of Ebola virus disease (EVD) premature neonatal survival is extremely rare. High mortality is related to prematurity, neonatal complications of Ebola, and precarious conditions of neonatal care in underresourced ETUs. This is a case of preterm neonatal survival in the setting of acute maternal EVD infection.AbstractThis case describes rare preterm newborn survival in the setting of an Ebola treatment unit in Eastern DRC. The neonate was born vaginally to an acutely ill 17-year-old mother who was vaccinated against Ebola virus after being identified as a contact of her father, who was a confirmed case and who did not survive his infection. This woman was admitted to an Ebola treatment unit at 32  weeks of gestation and given monoclonal antibody treatment. She gave birth vaginally, succumbing to postpartum hemorrhage 14 h after delivery. This child survived despite compounding vulnerabilities of preterm birth and maternal Ebola infection. Despite a negative test for EVD, the neonate was given a single dose of monoclonal antibody therapy in the first days of life. We believe maternal vaccination and neonatal monoclonal antibody treatment contributed to the child's survival. The circumstances surrounding neonatal survival in this extremely resource-limited context must be analyzed an d disseminated in order to increase rates of neonatal and maternal survival in future outbreaks. Maternal and neonatal health are critical aspects of outbre...
Source: Clinical Case Reports - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: CASE REPORT Source Type: research