Children can fight COVID-19 better than adults: Lancet study

Nearly a fifth of the pediatric population with Covid-19 did not exhibit any symptoms, according to the study.

Severe forms of Covid-19 occur rarely in children , say researchers. © Shutterstock

Many of us think that children may be more vulnerable to Covid-19 and this keeps parents worried about their kids all the time. But a new study has revealed that children are more resilient against the novel coronavirus.

In what is considered to be the largest systematic review to date of children and young adults with Covid-19, scientists found that covid-19 infected children demonstrated positive clinical developments compared to adults. The analysis conducted by scientists, including those from The University of Texas in the US, examined research published during the first four months of the coronavirus outbreak. They assessed the clinical data of more than 7,500 individuals from 26 countries. Results of the analysis were published in the journal EClinicalMedicine, a journal of The Lancet.

Based on their review, the researchers revealed that nearly a fifth of the pediatric population with Covid-19 did not exhibit any symptoms. But 21 per cent of the children exhibited patchy marks of tissue injury on lung X-rays. Here are some other key findings of the review:

• 6 per cent of the children assessed in the studies suffered from co-infections, such as flu, on top of Covid-19
• A little more than 3 per cent were admitted to intensive care units.
• Only seven deaths were reported
• The most common symptoms, similar to the adult population, were fever and cough.

Severe forms of Covid-19 occur rarely in children

"Although we are hearing about severe forms of the disease in children, this is occurring in very rare circumstances," PTI quoted study senior author Alvaro Moreira from UT as saying.

Based on their review, the scientist also found that pediatric Covid-19 patients had abnormal levels of molecules signifying inflammation in the body like creatine kinase, interleukin-6, and procalcitonin.

Covid-positive children who didn't have the extreme form of the disease had 42 per cent of the immune cells called lymphocytes in their blood, versus 11 per cent in children with the multisystem syndrome.

According to the scientists, kidney failure was seen in nine pediatric patients, liver failure in nine, shock in 19 children while ventilation was needed in 42 cases.

While the analysis provides evidence that children with Covid-19 have an overall better prognosis, the research team noted that more studies are needed to confirm the findings, and "better understand which patients are at increased risk for developing severe inflammation and multiorgan failure."

Newborns with COVID-19 may have only mild illness

Earlier a report from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago had claimed that newborn babies may not be at higher risk of complications from COVID-infection. The report, which was published in The Journal of Pediatrics, revealed that infants under 90 days of age who tested positive for COVID-19 tend to be well, with little or no respiratory symptoms. Fever was often found to be the primary or only symptom in newborn babies infected with the novel coronavirus, the study stated.