Coronavirus cases among US children have risen by 90% in past four weeks, study finds

Coronavirus cases in US children have increased recently but severe symptoms still appear rare among them
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Emily Lawford11 August 2020

The number of coronavirus cases among US children has increased by 90 per cent in the past four weeks, new analysis suggests.

A report published on Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association found that as of August 6, there have been more than 380,000 total US child Covid-19 cases. Of these, nearly 180,000 cases were diagnosed after July 9.

The report used case numbers provided by state health departments of 49 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

Children make up just over 9 per cent of total coronavirus cases in the US.

Dr Sean O'Leary, vice-chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, told CNN on Monday that although coronavirus symptoms tend to be mild in children, the disease can sometimes be fatal.

"It's not fair to say that this virus is completely benign in children," said Dr O'Leary. "We've had 90 deaths in children in the US already, in just a few months. Every year we worry about influenza in children, and there are roughly around 100 deaths in children from influenza every year."

Dr O'Leary said several factors have caused the recent rise in coronavirus infections in children, including increased testing, greater movement among children, and rising infection rates in the general population.

"We all have to take this virus seriously, including taking care of our children," he added.

Severe symptoms still seem rare among children with coronavirus. Children have made up between 0.5 per cent and 5.3 per cent of total hospitalisations, and 0 to 0.4 per cent of all Covid-19 deaths, according to data from states that track that information.

The AAP called, in a news release, for an effective testing strategy so that communities can make the right choice about opening schools.

"As case counts rise across the board, that is likely to impact more children with severe illness as well," Dr O'Leary said.

AAP president Dr Sally Goza said in the release that children would be likely to be affected in areas with “rapid community spread”.

"To protect everyone in our communities - children, teens, and older adults - we must follow all the public health measures that we know can contain the virus. This includes physical distancing, wearing cloth face coverings, washing our hands, and avoiding large gatherings," Dr O'Leary said.

Although several US leaders, including President Donald Trump, have said the virus is not very serious for children, a recent study suggests older ones can transmit the virus just as effectively as adults.

Another study said children younger than five carry a higher viral load than adults.

William Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School, told CNN on Monday: "Children ages zero to five can be highly infectious to other people. It turns out they have a thousand times more virus in their nose than you need to infect, so they're very, very contagious.

"There's every reason to suspect that this virus, even though it can kill you, behaves pretty much like a cold virus, in terms of transmission. Who drives colds? Children drive colds.

"And that's true of almost all respiratory diseases, including the colds that are caused by coronaviruses. And this is one of those cousins."

He added: "It even uses the same receptor in the nasal passages as one of the cold viruses. It just happens to be a cold virus that also kills."

A report released on Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that although fewer children than adults are hospitalised due to coronavirus, when they are hospitalised, they need the intensive care unit as often as adults do.

The CDC said children should be encouraged to regularly wash their hands, keep a distance from others, and wear a mask when around people outside their family if they are two years old or older.