Can kids catch coronavirus? What we know about Covid-19 and children

[KY_EnviroGuy]

Two articles..........

Can kids catch coronavirus? What we know about Covid-19 and children
The health effects of the Covid-19 outbreak have generally been milder on children but many unknowns remain

Read here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/23/can-kids-catch-coronavirus-what-we-know-about-covid-19-and-children

Excerpts:

Can children catch coronavirus?

Yes. They can be infected with and appear to be able to transmit coronavirus, even if they do not have symptoms. That is why it is important for children to practice social distancing and hand-washing, even if they do not appear ill.

How does coronavirus affect children?

It is generally believed to cause milder symptoms in children, but the specific impacts by age are becoming clearer as the outbreak goes on.

Much of what we know today is based on reports out of China, where the outbreak began. There 2.4% of all identified cases were in children under 19 years old. An even smaller number within this group of children had severe symptoms, 2.5%, or what the World Health Organization (WHO) described as “a very small proportion”. But more research is being done and a clearer picture is still emerging.

(followed by three more Q&As)

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What scientists know so far about the effects of coronavirus on children
Jonathan Ball
Studies show that young people are at less risk of serious illness – but as invisible carriers they may be key to spreading the virus
Jonathan Ball is a professor of molecular virology

Read here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/23/scientists-effects-coronavirus-children-studies-carriers

Excerpts:

The current coronavirus is different. In more than 85% of confirmed cases symptoms can go undetected or be easily confused with the common cold of mild flu. Its biggest weapon – the thing that has, according to one study, allowed it to spread so easily – is this ability to cause mild disease in the majority of people it infects. When you can’t easily tell if someone has a cold or coronavirus, case identification and infection control are far more difficult.

Far from being uninfected by this virus, children could in fact be its unseen carriers, important links in community transmission chains. But there’s still an important piece of the jigsaw missing. While many of us suspect that children have a key role to play in this outbreak, hard evidence to support this belief is still lacking.
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In perhaps the largest study of its type, Chinese researchers examined infection outcomes in more than 2,000 confirmed or suspected childhood cases of Covid-19. Just over half of the children had mild cold-like symptoms, or no symptoms at all.

Severe and critical diseases, where body oxygen levels are low and various organs are under threat, were seen in around 5% of the children studied, with the youngest (under one year old) most at risk. There are still significant gaps in this analysis. Importantly, most of these were suspected rather than confirmed Covid-19 cases. But this study does at least reaffirm that most infections in children are mild.

And, he follows with......

As with most things in this pandemic, the idea that coronavirus only threatens older people is an oversimplification. Younger people and children are less likely to die from coronavirus, but their mild symptoms could make them contagious carriers of the virus – and they are more difficult to spot.

Good read for me in understanding how my granddaughter could be affected.

KY............

[Mike 03]

1. Thank you for posting this.

Very helpful.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

2. Kick...for visibility.

Very important, IMO.