Persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA Positive in Feces but Negative in Breastmilk: A Case Report of COVID-19 in a Breastfeeding Patient

Huikuan Chu; Jing Li; Jingjing Yan; Tai Bai; Bernd Schnabl; Li Zou; Ling Yang; Xiaohua Hou

doi:10.3389/fmed.2020.562700

Persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA Positive in Feces but Negative in Breastmilk: A Case Report of COVID-19 in a Breastfeeding Patient

Front Med (Lausanne). 2020 Dec 2:7:562700. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2020.562700. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Huikuan Chu¹, Jing Li¹, Jingjing Yan¹, Tai Bai¹, Bernd Schnabl², Li Zou³, Ling Yang¹, Xiaohua Hou¹

Affiliations

¹ Division of Gastroenterology, Tongji Medical College, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
² Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States.
³ Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Tongji Medical College, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Abstract

COVID-19 is a pandemic infectious disease. Whether SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted through breast milk is unknown. Here, we report a breastfeeding woman with COVID-19 presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms and persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA positivity in both her oropharyngeal swabs and feces, but negativity in her breastmilk. After appearance of serum SARS-CoV-2-IgG, she began to bottle feed her baby with breastmilk without transmission. This report facilitates the understanding of breastfeeding-related risks in COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 RNA; breastfeeding; breastfeeding transmission; fecal-oral transmission.

Publication types

Case Reports

Grants and funding

P30 DK120515/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States