New information is coming out each day. Below is just a sample of some of the recent data in children.
SARS-CoV2 Infection in Children - Lu et al
- 1391 Children in China were tested between 1/28-2/26/20. 171 were positive.
- Fever was present in 41.5 % of infected children at some time during their illness course
- 3 patients required ICU care
- 27 patients did not have any symptoms or pneumonia on chest xray
Infant COVID Study - Wei et al
-2 month retrospective review
-9 infants under 1 year tested positive for COVID during this time period
-3/9 asymptomatic, 4/9 fever only, 2/9 mild URI symptoms
Children COVID Study - Xai et al
-2 week retrospective review
-20 children, all inpatients
-12/20 fever (60%), 13/20 cough (65%)
-Coinfection pathogens: influenza A, B, mycoplasma, CMV, RSV
Bottom line: Children appear to be less severely affected than adults and with a different symptom pattern. Coinfection with other respiratory viral pathogens can occur.
Wei et al. Research Letter: Novel Coronavirus Infection in Hospitalized Infants Under 1 Year of Age in China. JAMA. Published online February 14, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.2131.
Xai et al. Clinical and CT features in pediatric patients with COVID-19 infection: Different points from adults. Pediatric Pulmonary. 2020; 1-6.