In a risky yet responsible event in medical history, a team of four doctors delivered a baby for a mum suspected to be infected by the coronavirus. Despite city lockdown and limited supplies, the doctors managed to deliver a healthy 3.1 kg baby boy. To avoid the infection of the Wuhan virus, the baby and his mother were promptly separated after birth.
Suspected Wuhan Virus Mother
Xiaoyan, the 27-year-old mother, was 37 weeks pregnant when she showed all the symptoms of the dreaded coronavirus. Because of pregnancy, she could not receive proper treatment for the disease in early January.
Due to lack of proper care, Xiaoyan’s condition deteriorated. To add to this, the baby started putting pressure on the weak body of the sick mother.
Zhao Yin, deputy director of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department was among the teams of doctors. He confirmed that the doctors wore two protective suits, also called Hazmat suits, face masks and goggles while operating. They could hardly see and hear through all this protection and ended up sweating profusely under the double suits. The risk was high for the medical experts, as Xiaoyan had fever and was coughing all through the operation. The procedure, which was performed on 24th January, New Year’s Eve, took about 1 hour to finish.
Suspected Coronavirus Case: Is It a Wuhan Virus Baby?
No. Luckily, it is a plump baby boy, safe and healthy, and is not a “Wuhan virus baby”. As soon as he was born, the baby was sent home as a safety measure. The healthy baby was removed from the vicinity of the mother to avoid exposure to various infections including the deadly coronavirus. Xiaoyan is back in the infection ward to continue with her treatment. Though, more than a week after the procedure, Xiaoyan’s infection is still not confirmed.
The baby of the mother who is a suspected Wuhan Virus case was delivered by doctors in hazmat suits | Image Source: TikTok
The Reach of the Disease
Wuhan is the epicentre for the dreaded coronavirus epidemic. Despite a clampdown on transport and travels in all the major cities and affected places of China, the spread of the disease has been fast and wide.
Wuhan is the epicentre for the dreaded coronavirus epidemic. | Photo: iStock
The number of confirmed cases has been moving up sharply.
On 27 Jan, the count was 4409 in China and 14 more in Hong Kong and Macau. This increased to 4515 cases on Tuesday and further to 5974 on Wednesday, which is about 25 percent higher. The death toll has also gone up simultaneously from 106 on 28th January to 132 on 29th.
On 29 Jan, the count of cases are as follows: Thailand has reported 14 cases while Singapore has 10; Hong Kong and Taiwan have 8; Japan, Malaysia, Australia and Macau have 7 each; the US has 5; UAE, South Korea, Germany and France have confirmed 4 each; Canada reported 3; Vietnam has 2; and Nepal, Cambodia and Germany registered 1 each.
Coughing and shortness of breath is one of the symptoms of the Wuhan Coronavirus. | Photo: iStock
This data may be climbing up while you are reading this. There have been no coronavirus-related deaths outside China. The worrisome part is that the patients from Germany, Taiwan, Vietnam and Japan have never been to China.
Government scientists in China, Australia and the US, and major pharmaceutical companies are working towards a vaccine for the disease. The parts of the genetic code to prepare the vaccine has already been identified. Hope is on the way.
