PERICOVID STUDY HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED TO INCLUDE PREGNANT WOMEN IN CONTINUOUS SURVEILLANCE DURING PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES

Fotografia: UNsplash

A study recently published in the scientific journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, under the PRECISE project (PREgnancy Care Integrating translational Science, Everywhere), reinforces the need to include pregnant women in the continuous surveillance of disease impacts during public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the post-pandemic context, the study findings remain highly relevant for countries such as Mozambique, where maternal health services continue to face structural challenges related to laboratory capacity, systematic screening, and clinical monitoring.

The study was conducted in Mozambique by CISM in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine of Eduardo Mondlane University (FAMED-UEM) between 2020 and 2021, involving pregnant women and their newborns. The results indicate an overall SARS-CoV-2 prevalence of 26.2%, ranging from 4.9% at the beginning of the pandemic to 82% after the third wave. The research shows that a significant proportion of pregnant women were infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic and that most were asymptomatic, highlighting the risk of silent transmission and the limitations of approaches based solely on clinical screening and surveillance data, where infection during pregnancy was rarely reported.

Although assessing the association between infection and adverse pregnancy outcomes was not the primary focus of this study, the scientific literature describes associations between SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe maternal or neonatal complications, including maternal death, admission to intensive care units, or adverse neonatal outcomes. In this regard, the authors stress the need to strengthen continuous surveillance, particularly in settings where health system response capacity remains limited.

We Cannot Rely on Symptoms Alone

Esperança Sevene, first author of the article

For Esperança Sevene, researcher in the Maternal Health Area at CISM/FAMED-UEM and first author of the article, the findings demonstrate the importance of investing in more comprehensive screening systems within maternal healthcare services.

“The high proportion of asymptomatic cases identified in the study shows that relying solely on symptoms to detect infections may leave many women undiagnosed. This reinforces the importance of surveillance systems that are better prepared to respond to future health emergencies without leaving pregnant women behind. Understanding the burden of disease among pregnant women allows for the development of specific interventions for this group, including treatment and preventive measures such as vaccines.”

According to Sónia Maculuve, CISM researcher and co-author of the article, the study also highlights the importance of locally generated scientific evidence to support public health decision-making. “Studies such as this help us better understand how global epidemics affect specific populations within the Mozambican context. Locally produced scientific evidence is essential for guiding health policies that are better suited to our reality.”

The study is part of the PRECISE project, an international maternal and newborn health research network bringing together institutions from Africa (Mozambique, Kenya, and The Gambia), Europe, and North America. The network is funded by the United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) fund.

The laboratory work was funded through the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership 2 (EDCTP2) programme, while the tests were provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), underscoring the importance of national and international partnerships that made this study possible.

Reference

Sevene E, Maculuve S, Tchavana C, Valá A, Quimice L, Macuacua S, Carrilho C, Gonzalez R, Nhampossa T, Menendez C, Craik R, Hookham L, Le Doare K, von Dadelszen P; periCOVID-Africa and PRECISE Network. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among pregnant women during the first three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Mozambique. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2026 May 20. doi: 10.1186/s12884-026-09266-z. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42163160.