Department of Hepatitis, National Public Health Organization, Athens, Greece.
Directorate of Research, Studies and Documentation, National Public Health Organization, Athens, Greece.
Arch Med Res. 2022 Jan;53(1):1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2021.07.002. Epub 2021 Jul 6.
From the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic it became evident that children infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remain mostly asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. We reviewed the epidemiologic and clinical features of children with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The true prevalence of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection is most likely underestimated, as asymptomatic children are less frequently tested. Serologic surveys indicate that half of children tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 report no symptoms. Anosmia/ageusia is not frequent in children but it is the strongest predictor of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test. In general, children with COVID-19 are at lower risk of hospitalization and life-threatening complications. Nevertheless, cases of severe disease or a post-infectious multisystem hyperinflammatory syndrome named multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) have been described. Rarely children with severe COVID-19 develop neurologic complications. In addition, studies indicate that school closures have a limited impact on SARS-CoV-2 transmission, much less than other social distancing measures. The past months new SARS-CoV-2 variants emerged with higher transmissibility and an increased impact on morbidity and deaths. The role of children in the transmission dynamics of these variants must be elucidated. Lastly, preliminary results from COVID-19 vaccine trials indicate very good efficacy and tolerability in children. Very recently the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health authorities recommend vaccination of children 12 years or older to protect them but mostly to contribute to the achievement of herd immunity.
从新型冠状病毒病 2019(COVID-19)大流行开始,就明显看出儿童感染严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2(SARS-CoV-2)后大多无症状或症状轻微。我们回顾了儿童 SARS-CoV-2 感染的流行病学和临床特征。无症状 SARS-CoV-2 感染的真实患病率很可能被低估了,因为无症状儿童接受检测的频率较低。血清学调查表明,一半接受 SARS-CoV-2 检测呈阳性的儿童报告没有症状。嗅觉丧失/味觉丧失在儿童中不常见,但它是 SARS-CoV-2 检测呈阳性的最强预测指标。一般来说,COVID-19 患儿住院和发生危及生命并发症的风险较低。然而,已描述了严重疾病或称为儿童多系统炎症综合征(MIS-C)的感染后多系统超炎症综合征的病例。极少数 COVID-19 严重患儿会出现神经系统并发症。此外,研究表明,学校停课对 SARS-CoV-2 传播的影响有限,远小于其他社交距离措施。过去几个月,出现了传播力更高、对发病率和死亡率影响更大的新型 SARS-CoV-2 变异株。必须阐明儿童在这些变异株传播动态中的作用。最后,COVID-19 疫苗试验的初步结果表明,儿童对疫苗的疗效和耐受性非常好。最近,美国疾病控制与预防中心和其他公共卫生当局建议为 12 岁及以上的儿童接种疫苗,以保护他们,但主要是为了帮助实现群体免疫。