COVID-19 Infection May Induce Fetal Brain Hemorrhages, Scientists Warn - ScienceAlert

There are already plenty of reasons to worry about COVID-19, but there's another to add to the list: There's evidence of the virus in fetal brain tissue in instances of pregnant people passing the infection to their children.

"While hemorrhages do occasionally occur in developing brains, it is extremely unusual for there to be this many instances within a 21-month period," says neurobiologist Katie Long from King's College London in the UK.

"Whatever the cause, a direct effect of the virus or an indirect consequence of maternal infection, this study highlights the need for pregnant women to be vaccinated against COVID-19, thus avoiding complications for both mother and baby."

Viral infections in mothers are regularly associated with neurological damage in children; the Zika virus is one of the more high-profile cases in recent years showing how significant these effects can be.

We have earlier studies linking health problems in fetuses with cases of COVID-19 in pregnant mothers, but so far, the pool of data on the topic is relatively small – something that scientists will be looking to change in the future.

"Our findings suggest that there is an association between the early development of human fetal brain tissue and vulnerability to infection from COVID-19," says neurobiologist Marco Massimo from King's College London.