So Far, the Coronavirus has infected more than 100,000 people worldwide with more severe cases in China, Iran and Italy.
As the virus rages on however, there is a palpable fear about the vulnerability of children to the deadly disease. This is because children are ten times more likely to imbibe habits which contribute to the spread of the disease.
That is, children are less likely to wash their hands often, they are also more likely to stick their hands in their mouth and eyes than adults are wont to do.
Despite this however, only a handful of children have been infected with the Coronavirus so far.
A study of Coronavirus cases between December and February showed that only 9 infants under the age of One were infected by the disease in China. None of the infected infants required intensive care or suffered severe complications.
In Germany, a child whose father tested positive for the virus was infected while in Shenzen, another 10 year old became infected. In Wuhan the epicentre of the virus, a 30 hour old child was infected but his mother had been infected with the virus already.
While the Coronavirus appears to have a more lethal effect in adults older than 50, it seems like children are not very vulnerable to the virus.
According to Richard Martinello, an associae Professor of infectious disease at the Yale School of Medicine
“From everything that we’ve seen, and for reasons that are unclear to us, it does seem that this is primarily impacting adults.”
Aaron Milstone, an epidemiologist and Professor of pediatrics at the John Hopkins Hospital thinks this a good development
“If we can protect kids — one, it’s good for them, but two, it’s good for the population. If it does penetrate the pediatric population, that might amplify the outbreak.”
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