More signs that coronavirus takes less of a toll on children
- In two studies looking at a combined 16 cases, Chinese researchers say the disease tends to be mild in minors
- But the virus continued to appear in faecal samples long after nose and throat swabs no longer show evidence of an infection, according to one paper
The studies appear to support earlier research that the coronavirus takes less of a physical toll on children than older people.
But a specialist also cautioned that the studies were small and the mild symptoms might have led to fewer children being tested.
“We still do not understand why there are so few children among the confirmed cases worldwide,” Ben Cowling, a public health professor from the University of Hong Kong, said.
“We don’t yet know how common are infections in children and whether children can spread infection.”
In a paper published in the journal Nature Medicine on Friday, researchers from the Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Centre, in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, examined the cases of 10 infected children – six boys and four girls ranging in age from two months to 15 years.