Pediatric COVID-19 and MIS-C – Lessons Learnt and the Way Forward

Venkataraman, A (2023) Pediatric COVID-19 and MIS-C – Lessons Learnt and the Way Forward. Pediatric COVID-19 and MIS-C – Lessons Learnt and the Way Forward, 60(5) (347-49).

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Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly spread worldwide leading to innumerable deaths [1,2]. Children are just as likely as adults to get infected and the most common source of infection in children is through close contact [3]. Epidemiology of pediatric COVID-19 has been variable in the literature but overall children account only for approximately 10% of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection [3]. Of these, approximately one-third were estimated to have occurred in South Asia (including India). Most children are; however, asymptomatic or have mild symptoms [4]. Severe disease may be seen in infants or children who have other comorbidities or underlying conditions [4,5]. There is a knowledge gap concerning this low sensitivity to COVID-19 in children and its mild presentation in the pediatric population. Many hypotheses have been put forward ranging from the possibility of children having an immune response to the virus lesser than the adults to viral interference in the respiratory tract of young child ren, leading to a lower SARS-CoV-2 viral load [4]. The different expression of the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptor (the receptor for SARS-CoV-2) in the respiratory tracts of children and adults has also been attributed to the less severe disease in children [4]. The other possibilities include pre-existing cross-reactive antibody, a protective off-target effect of live vaccines, developmental differences in adaptive immune responses in children, and age-related differences in the nasopharyngeal microbiome.

Affiliation:	ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis
Item Type:	Article
URI:	http://eprints.nirt.res.in/id/eprint/2227

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