ZIIMBABWE on Friday recorded its youngest Covid-19 death
when a three-week-old baby died in Hwange, baffling health experts after it was
discovered that both his parents had tested negative.
The death could be the second youngest in the world after a
two-day-old baby died in South Africa in February, officials said. The Ministry
of Health and Child Care reported that the baby was among the Covid-19 related
deaths that were recorded between 3 and 5 August.
“Today we regret to report five deaths which occurred
between 3 and 5 August 2020 in the community and on admission to the casualty
department at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals and other hospitals after
investigations and a post-mortem was done. These include two males and two
females from Harare Province and a baby aged three weeks from Matabeleland
North Province and had respiratory symptoms compatible with Covid-19 and the
polymerase chain reaction (PRC) results were positive for Covid-19,” the
Ministry said.
Matabeleland North Provincial Medical Director Dr Munekai
Padingani told Sunday News yesterday that the baby was born to a young mother
at St Patricks Hospital in Hwange with multiple congenital disorders (birth
deformities).
“The baby was three weeks old and was born with congenital
malformations and was sent to Mpilo Central Hospital for management there. The
mother was told to wait for three to five months before the child could be
operated on to correct the malformations. They also wanted the child to gain a
bit of some weight before the operation was conducted,” he said.
Dr Padingani said the mother, after being discharged from
Mpilo Central returned to Hwange with the baby a week ago and the child died at
home. As per routine under the Covid-19 regulations, he said a specimen was
collected from the body and tested positive for Covid-19. He, however, said
initial tests had shown that the baby was born without the disease and the
mother and father had tested negative to Covid-19.
“We did a rapid test on the mother and the father and they
were both negative, so it means they were not in contact with the virus. They
do not have antibodies against the virus. We have to do a PCR on them to
further test them. But that hypothesis of saying the baby was born with the
virus from the mother is out. Maybe the baby got infected elsewhere, that is my
assumption,” said Dr Padingani.
He said since the baby was born with congenital
malformations, he already had underlying health conditions which put him at
high risk of succumbing to Covid-19.
“The baby had cleft palate, agenesis of the nasal septum,
meaning that the separation between the nostrils of the baby was not there and
the nose was very small. He also had anal malposition and low set ears. The
baby had too many malformations at birth which also contributed to the death.”
The PMD said it was important that health workers practise
high levels of caution to avoid getting infected or passing on the virus to
their patients. Sunday News
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