· Children and adolescents (0 to 18 years) contributed 1- 10% of laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally.
· Children have been reported to have milder symptoms of COVID-19 and have shown better prognosis as compared to adults.
· Severe cases presenting as a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) has been reported in some pediatric cases of COVID-19. Many of these children meet the criteria for complete or incomplete Kawasaki disease, but different clinical presentations of this inflammatory disorder are being reported.
· Underlying medical conditions and comorbidities such as such as sickle cell disease, immunocompromised condition, obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and asthma have been associated with severity and complications from COVID-19 infection in pediatric patients.
· Although rare, death from COVID-19 in children have been reported, with a case fatality rate of less than 0.5%.
Asamoah, G; Muhajarine, N; Dalidowicz, M; Ellsworth, C; Howell-Spooner, B. What is the disease progression and epidemiology of COVID-19 in pediatric populations? 2020 Jul 27; Document no.: EOC072102 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 17 p. (CEST rapid review report)
AUGUST 7th UPDATE: No new studies examining secondary attack rates of pediatric index cases were found. Studies continue to suggest low transmission from pediatric cases, and high proportion of pediatric cases being asymptomatic to mildly symptomatic.
Key Findings
· Pediatric cases of COVID-19 constitute between 1% to 10% of all confirmed cases of COVID-19; variation exists by jurisdiction.
· Few case reports exist of confirmed child-to-other transmission. Contact tracing studies suggest that children are unlikely to be transmitters of the disease. Households are the most likely environments for transmission.
· A recent large South Korean contact tracing study however (in pre-print) found that household COVID-19 transmission rates for children age 10-19 were significantly higher than in adults; transmission rates for children age 0-9 were relatively low.
Sulaiman, F; Groot, G; Muhajarine, N; Dalidowicz, M; Miller, L. What is the transmissibility and epidemiology of COVID-19 in children and adolescents? 2020 Aug 14; Document no.: EOC070201v2 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 12 p. (CEST rapid review report)
