COVID-19 and children

The new coronavirus, called the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified in December 2019 In the following months SARS-CoV-2 has led to a pandemic with over 2,000,000 confirmed cases and 100,000 deaths The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, called the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is characterized by general symptoms of infection, which are accompanied with inflammatory changes in the lower respiratory tract In a small number of infected people, most notably the elderly with comorbidities, the disease progresses to acute respiratory distress and multiple organ failure with lethal outcome Epidemiological reports, however, show a small percentage of children among the sick: up to 5% Children tend to have laboratory evidence of virus infection or mild to moderately severe clinical presentations, with slightly milder radiological changes in the lungs than adults, and with rare lethal outcomes It has been observed that children are as susceptible to infection as adults, but it is not fully understood why they remain asymptomatic, or have mild forms of COVID-19 The causes for that are sought in the interaction between the host immune forces and the pathogenic mechanisms of the virus Childhood is characterized by viral infections and vaccinations that provide cross-immunity and reactivity to other pathogens, increased lymphocyte counts and increased expression of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) It is considered that the characteristics mentioned above could provide protection against the more severe forms of COVID-19 When it comes to the newborns, analyses of amniotic fluid, cord blood and breast milk have not yet demonstrated the vertical transmission of infection from mother to child While the pandemic lasts, it is necessary to implement strict protective measures against the spreading of the disease, and to look for the first signs of the disease in order to start the appropriate treatment as soon as possible © 2020 Hrvatski Lijecnicki Zbor All rights reserved