What risk does the coronavirus represent for children? Since the beginning of the week, and in particular since the appearance of the first cases in French-speaking Switzerland, the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) have received a lot of calls from worried parents. “This virus is new and it is normal,” notes Arnaud L’Huillier, head of clinic at the Pediatric Infectious Disease Unit. But he wants to be reassuring: from a pediatric point of view, the Covid-19 does not currently arouse any particular fear for doctors.
“According to the data at our disposal, we have the impression that this epidemic spares children,” continues the doctor. In China, people under 20 represent only 2% of patients. They are also underrepresented in censuses in other countries. “
Is it because they are less easily infected or because they develop few symptoms and, as a result, go undetected? “It is difficult to say because we still lack information. “But it seems that there are very few symptoms or mild symptoms in infected children and, on the other hand, that these patients recover more easily.”
A study was conducted on 44,000 patients in China. Among them, there were only a thousand patients under the age of 20, one of whom died. “We only know that this is a child between the ages of 10 and 19. We have no other description. In particular, we do not know if he had other conditions and therefore belonged to a risk group. “
Precisely, doctors cannot say if children suffering from chronic diseases present a particular risk, as seen in adults. “Our knowledge of the flu may suggest that it is, but we don’t have the numbers.”
For other illnesses, young children can be hotbeds of the epidemic. “By their behavior, they are often vectors of transmission,” confirms Arnaud L’Huillier. Can’t say if it’s the same with the new coronavirus. According to the Genevese, there is therefore no reason to close schools as a precaution. “But the situation is changing quickly.”
So, what to do?
Pediatricians Recommend Parents To Apply With Their Children the same rules as those valid for the rest of the population – namely to wash your hands regularly, to avoid contact with sick people, and to blow your nose and cough in a handkerchief or in the crook of your arm.
Can minors go to school, nursery or supermarket? “We do not advise no particular eviction right now, including for those with chronic illnesses. Nor is it necessary to make them wear masks. “
These tips change if a child returns from a risk area (especially the regions of Italy above Florence) and has symptoms within fourteen days of return. There, it is necessary to isolate it then to contact the pediatrician by telephone. For the record, the symptoms are especially fever and cough.
Created: 02.29.2020, 9:52 am
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