In a relieving study report amid the soaring Covid-19 cases across the globe, children are found to be the least prone to severe, risky symptoms of the novel coronavirus infection.
According to the recent analysis report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), most of the kids infected with the coronavirus develop only mild symptoms and typically recovered within two weeks of treatment.
They also identified that most of these children with fewer symptoms required only the minimum supportive care, resulting in full recovery within one to two weeks.
"Most infected children recover one to two weeks after the onset of symptoms, and no deaths had been reported by February 2020," the researchers wrote in the study.
Similar reports on paediatric Covid patients
The report was cumulative of 18 studies that assessed 1,065 participants from countries that had the most number of paediatric patients, particularly in China and Singapore.
In addition to the JAMA report, the researchers, in the University of Pavia in Italy, University of Fribourg in Switzerland and University of Melbourne in Australia also contributed their reports that also showed quick recovery among the paediatric Covid-19 patients.
Children are likely to infect the coronavirus, although they are less likely to be unwell or develop severe symptoms, says the study. "However, the importance of children in transmitting the virus remains uncertain," the scientists cautioned in the study.
"Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infection and disease in animals, capable of rapid mutation and recombination, leading to novel viruses that can spread from animals to humans," it added.
Meanwhile in some cases, in rare, severe symptoms and even death of the infants are also reported.
Symptoms generally seen in kids
Children who were tested positive to the deadly contagious virus, developed mild respiratory symptoms with fever, dry cough, and fatigue; while in some cases, asymptomatic.
Among the two studies that showed gastrointestinal complications, vomiting was described as the primary clinical manifestation. Except for the single case of severe infection, says the report, none of the included children required oxygen or assisted ventilation.
It also mentioned the possibilities for new born babies in infecting the virus from the mother. However, larger studies are needed to be conducted to confirm this.
In another related study published online in the journal Pediatrics, only 6% of the children's cases were reported severe or critical, while 18.5% for adults risked in critical periods.
The differences in symptoms among different age groups are seen in other respiratory illnesses as well.
