SARS-CoV-2 infection in newborn infants: descriptive epidemiological analysis of cases reported to the Colombian national surveillance system during the first pandemic year, March 2020–February 2021

Objective To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of newborn infants with SARS-CoV-2 infection notified in the Colombian Public Health Surveillance System. Design This epidemiological descriptive analysis was conducted using the data of all cases of newborn infants with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection notified in the surveillance system. Absolute frequencies and central tendency measures were calculated and a bivariate analysis comparing variables of interest with symptomatic and asymptomatic disease was performed. Setting Population-based descriptive analysis. Patients Laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in newborn infants (aged ≤28 days of life) reported to the surveillance system from 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2021. Results 879 newborns were identified, corresponding to 0.04% of all reported cases in the country. The mean age at diagnosis was 13 days (range 0–28 days), 55.1% were male and most (57.6%) were classified as symptomatic. Preterm birth and low birth weight were identified in 24.0% and 24.4% of the cases, respectively. Common symptoms were fever (58.3%), cough (48.3%) and respiratory distress (34.9%). A higher prevalence of symptomatic newborns was seen in individuals with low birth weight for gestational age (prevalence ratio (PR): 1.51, 95% CI: 1.44 to 1.59) and newborns with underlying conditions (PR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.55). Conclusions There were a low proportion of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the newborn population. A substantial number of newborns were classified as symptomatic, having low birth weight and being preterm. Clinicians caring for COVID-19-infected newborns should be aware of population characteristics that potentially contribute to disease manifestations and severity.