COVID-19 in Children: Prevalence, Clinical Characteristics, Severity, and Transmission
Author(s): Hanadi S Lingawi*
Abstract
A limited number of pediatric cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported since the emergence of the pandemic. The clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in children remain unclear. The aim of this review article is to describe the current knowledge of COVID-19 in children regarding its prevalence, signs, symptoms, severity and the role of children in disease transmission. This article is based on a comprehensive review of PUbMED and Google Scholar for original articles, letters to editors, editorials, and case reports published from January to October 2020. It was concluded that Children of all age groups are susceptible to acquiring COVID-19 but will most likely be asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. Many explanations for this have been suggested, but the exact reason is clear. Although children may show typical symptoms such as fever and cough, yet gastrointestinal involvement is much more common than in adults. Dry coughing is also lighter in children. There is no significant difference in prevalence between both sexes. Regarding transmission, it has not been confirmed whether COVID-19 is often transmitted from children to adults, but it is wise for families and their COVID-19 affected children to follow preventive measures to help stop COVID-19 from spreading.