A survey conducted by the Brazilian Society of Paediatrics, based on official data from the Ministry of Health, showed the infant mortality rate Covid-19 It decreased from 8.2% to 5.8% among children and adolescents hospitalized for SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in the comparison between 2020 and 2021.
Despite optimistic numbers, pediatrician Andresa Giuliani Giglio explains that parents must remain vigilant carefully to avoid transmission of the virus by children, especially in children. Back to the classroom.
“If a child has any symptoms, it is important that he is isolated, in contact with only one person in the family, until the test result appears. The same applies if a family member has tested positive for covid-19, the child must leave school for 14 years. At least a day until it is proven that he was not infected with the virus, “the doctor explains.
The pediatrician indicates that there is no need for additional care at home, such as maintaining mask use after returning from school, if safety protocols are properly followed in the school environment. “When the child comes home, just wash your hands and change your clothes,” he says.
“It is important to highlight the role of the parents in this back to school, because they also have a responsibility not to go to parties, and to leave the child in contact only with people in the house so that he does not run the risk of becoming contaminated,” instructs Andresa.
When should children be tested for Covid virus?
According to the pediatrician, although the incidence of Covid-19 virus is lower among children, the test should be performed by those who have flu-like symptoms, whether it is a runny nose, fever, cough, body aches or headaches.
“Some children with Coronavirus only have a fever, so it should be tested, especially in a pandemic situation where the first option is always to think about Coronavirus. In addition, it is time for other viruses to spread, such as influenza and other respiratory viruses.
The pediatrician notes that there are still no conclusive studies explaining why Covid-19 finds it more difficult to develop in a serious way in children’s bodies.
The elevated coronavirus protein needs to bind to a receptor called ECA (angiotensin converting enzyme) to be able to enter the human cell. So, the hypothesis is that as it is the case in children, this receptor exists in a smaller amount than adults, and the Coronavirus ends up having more difficulty entering their organism, “he explains.
The doctor also indicates that the new variants of SARS-CoV-2 did not affect the way the children contracted the virus or the way the organism developed the disease.
“On clinical observation, we did not see an increase in cases involving children in proportion to the number of adults,” he says.
Post-Covid Syndrome in Children
Although it is not very fatal among children during the acute stage, Covid-19 can cause polysystemic inflammatory syndrome in children. According to the Ministry of Health, as of mid-February, 736 cases of the syndrome and 46 related deaths were recorded in Brazil.
One A study by the American Academy of Neurology It was concluded that half of the children who contracted SIM-P after covid-19 had some neurological symptoms.
“There is a need for more studies involving more children and their monitoring to see how this condition changes over time and whether there are any long-term neurocognitive effects,” said one of the study’s authors, Dr. Omar Abdel Mannan, from University College London. United kingdom.
