SARS-CoV-2 infection in children: Transmission dynamics and clinical characteristics
Qing Cao, Yi-Ching Chen, Chyi‐Liang Chen, Cheng‐Hsun Chiu
Abstract
The emergence and spread of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) from Wuhan, China, have become a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, designated by World Health Organization. As of February 26, 2020, the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China has received a total of 77,663 confirmed cases from across China. As of February 26, 126 confirmed cases were reported from Hong Kong (HK), Macao, and Taiwan, and 1804 from 37 countries worldwide. During the previous outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in HK and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korean, very few pediatric patients were reported, respectively. Despite a high mortality rate of SARS and MERS in the adults, there were no fatalities in the pediatric patients. Children appeared to have a milder form of the disease caused by the coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2.