This week I would like to discuss the characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its clinical features in children. Recent data from the Chinese Center for Disease control and prevention has shown that less than 1% of the cases were in children less than 10 years of age. The SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected by nasopharyngeal or throat swabs. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that fever was present in 41.5% of the children and other common symptoms were cough and pharyngeal erythema. 15.8% of the patients didn’t express any symptoms or features of pneumonia. There were a few kids who were admitted to the ICU, but all them had coexisting conditions. Based on the report, infected children had a milder clinical course with lower rates of hospitalization and lower rates of severe illness compared to infected adults. The children also had the potential to serve as asymptomatic carriers.
Another study that will be published in Pediatrics Journal, also highlights the same key points that was highlighted by the other study. The study does provide some additional data too. It mentions that while children often face milder symptoms of the disease, there are specific subpopulations that have an increased risk of being severely ill. One study conducted in China found that this virus is seen more in children with ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) than Human Metapneumovirus, another virus that causes respiratory tract infection. There is some data that suggests that children have a greater upper respiratory tract carriage of the virus than lower respiratory tract which can play a big role in transmission of the virus through the community. There are additional concerns about fecal-oral transmission because there is evidence of fecal shedding in the stool several weeks after the diagnosis has been made. This is particularly applicable to young infants and children who haven’t been toilet-trained as it increases the chances of the caregiver acquiring the infection.
- By: Sanya Bansal