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In the case of infection with the new coronavirus, seniors are considered the most at-risk group. Data from a Chinese study published in the academic magazine Pediatrics, however, point out that COVID-19 is not merciful even towards children. This study shows that especially in very young children the coronavirus can have a more severe course.
Coronavirus does not spare children either
It is generally assumed that children who contract the new coronavirus have no or only very mild symptoms. A new Chinese study published by the academic magazine Pediatrics overturns this established view. It points out that the coronavirus does not spare even the smallest ones.
Chinese scientists focused on children’s susceptibility to COVID-19. They used data from Chinese doctors from the period between January 16 and February 8, 2020, who treated children infected with the new coronavirus, or children who were suspected of having the disease. In 34 percent of the children the presence of coronavirus was confirmed by tests; in others the diagnosis was clinical, based on their symptoms or using chest X-rays.
The youngest group of children is the most vulnerable
What did the Chinese scientists conclude? The probability that children will develop an infection with the new coronavirus is lower than in adults or seniors. However, some cases of infection in children can be very serious.
Chinese scientists analyzed a total of 2,143 cases of children ill with the coronavirus who were younger than 18 years. Four percent of the children had no symptoms, 39 percent of the examined children had the disease with a moderately severe course. In 125 children (that is nearly six percent) the COVID-19 infection had a very severe course.
Among severe and critical cases, 10.6 percent were children younger than one year. In the 1 to 5 years category it was 7.3 percent, in the 6 to 10 years category 1.2 percent, in the 11 to 15 years category 4.1 percent, and in the 15 to 18 years category 3 percent. Chinese scientists pointed out that within these groups the youngest children are the most vulnerable to coronavirus infection.
The youngest children have an underdeveloped immune system
According to American pediatrician Andrea Cruz, who works at Baylor College of Medicine, the reason for the high share of severe courses in the very youngest children is their underdeveloped immune system. “These are children who have not yet been sufficiently exposed to viruses. Therefore they have not yet been able to develop effective immunity,” the doctor explained to the New York Times.
Unfortunately, deaths from the new coronavirus are currently occurring even among children. On March 27 a child younger than one year died in the U.S. state of Illinois, in whom doctors diagnosed an infection with COVID-19. According to AFP, however, it is not yet clear whether this child also suffered from other health problems. At the end of March a sixteen-year-old high school student, Julia, died in the French department of Essonne near Paris. According to her parents she did not suffer from other health problems.
