The majority of children infected with the coronavirus, experience not only the typical symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath, but a wide range of symptoms, according to new US scientific research.
The study shows that although children and adolescents can become severely ill from Covid-19 and require admission to an ICU, they usually have a milder disease progression than adults, and lower mortality. On the other hand, according to scientists, the frequent absence of typical symptoms in children requires increased vigilance by their parents and teachers in schools, as well as frequent testing of students.
The University of Alabama researchers, who published the paper in the journal Scientific Reports, analysed data on 12,306 children diagnosed with Covid-19. 672 (5.5%) required hospital admission and of these, 118 (18%) were admitted to an ICU, while 38 (4%) were intubated. The risk of hospitalization, ICU admission and intubation was the same for boys and girls.
It was found that 18.8% of paediatric patients reported symptoms of fever, fatigue, muscle or joint pains, and smell or taste disturbances. 16.5% had respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, etc.), 14% had gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, etc.), 8% had dermatological symptoms such as rashes and 4.8% had neurological symptoms (mainly headaches).
