Large number of children have tested positive in State

Large number of children have tested positive in State

Paediatricians say it is not a cause for worry

26/06/2020

Over 100 children aged 0 to 12 have tested positive for COVID-19 each day over the last six days. The figure may be rising due to Tamil Nadu recording 2,000-plus cases on a daily basis over the past week. but paediatricians say a majority of infected children continue to be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

As of June 1, 1,322 children aged 0 to 12 years had tested positive for COVID-19. However, as cases have continued to increase in the State, 2,159 more children have tested positive since then, bringing the total number of infected children to 3,481, as of June 25.

“Children who test positive for COVID-19 are referred to our hospital for further management. We admit children for evaluation and see if they develop any symptoms during their stay. We check their complete blood count and do an X-ray. A majority of them are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. We also screen children who are admitted to the hospital for other reasons such as fever, abdominal pain and pneumonia for COVID-19,” said Rema Chandramohan, director of the Institute of Child Health (ICH) and Hospital for Children. S. Srinivasan, State nodal officer, Child Health, said most of the children do not develop complications. “They come with complaints of fever for two days, stay in the hospital for five days and recover with good nutrition and good hydration. We have not seen sick children or cytokine storm in children,” he said.

ICH has made an exception for children aged below five, he said, adding, “We have allowed a few COVID-19-positive mothers to stay with the children. We cannot separate young children from their parents. So, we have allowed a few mothers to stay and have been monitoring them. If any of them develop symptoms, they are shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.”

A senior paediatrician said the number of children being affected is not frightening. “Paediatric hospitals are neither being flooded with cases, nor are the outpatient departments crowded. It is basically children with mild symptoms, children who test positive when screened for other underlying conditions, and newborns of COVID-19-positive mothers,” he said.

Janani Sankar, senior consultant, Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital, said that at times, older children complain of fever with myalgia and throat pain.“Among in-patients suspected to have symptoms of COVID-19, approximately 10% have tested positive. But we do not see any child with severe symptoms. We have had six children with hyperinflammatory syndrome. There were two or three newborns whose mothers were COVID-19-positive. All have recovered well. We have had no mortality or shortage of beds,” she said. It is advisable for healthcare workers to stay away from their children in a separate room at home for the next two months, while others who go to offices or even shops should wear masks and wash their hands and feet well on returning home, she said.