Science Editor, Medical Science Monitor, International Scientific Information, Inc., Melville, NY, USA.
Med Sci Monit. 2022 Aug 1;28:e937927. doi: 10.12659/MSM.937927.
The range of long-term clinical conditions following SARS-CoV-2 infection in adults is now recognized. However, the prevalence, presentation, and risk factors for long COVID, or post-COVID-19, in children are less well understood because there have been few follow-up studies or long-term clinical trials in children with COVID-19. However, recent studies have shown that children with mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 may develop long-term sequelae that include cough, fatigue, and lethargy. The incidence and severity of common childhood respiratory viruses have changed in the past year, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Hepatitis of unknown cause in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection is increasingly reported. Although both a viral cause and an autoimmune cause have been proposed, adenovirus type 41 infection is of current interest. These findings support immunization programs for SARS-CoV-2 in children, and infection surveillance and monitoring of the changing patterns and severity of other pediatric viral infections, including adenovirus type 41 and RSV, to develop and administer effective vaccines. This Editorial aims to highlight what is currently known of the long-term effects of symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and the changing epidemiology and pathogenesis of previously common childhood viral infections now driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.
成人感染 SARS-CoV-2 后长期临床情况的范围现已得到确认。然而,由于对儿童 COVID-19 的随访研究或长期临床试验较少,儿童中长新冠(或新冠后 COVID-19)的流行率、表现和风险因素了解较少。然而,最近的研究表明,轻度或无症状 COVID-19 的儿童可能会出现长期后遗症,包括咳嗽、疲劳和乏力。在过去的一年中,包括呼吸道合胞病毒(RSV)在内的常见儿童呼吸道病毒的发病率和严重程度发生了变化。与 SARS-CoV-2 感染相关的儿童不明原因肝炎的报道也越来越多。尽管已经提出了病毒原因和自身免疫原因,但目前人们对腺病毒 41 感染很感兴趣。这些发现支持为儿童接种 SARS-CoV-2 疫苗的免疫计划,以及对感染的监测和对其他儿科病毒感染(包括腺病毒 41 和 RSV)的流行模式和严重程度变化的监测,以开发和管理有效的疫苗。本社论旨在强调目前已知的有症状和无症状 SARS-CoV-2 感染对儿童的长期影响,以及 COVID-19 大流行驱动的以前常见的儿童病毒感染的不断变化的流行病学和发病机制。