A new study has found that severe COVID-19 reactions are rare in babies under three months old.
In a recent study published in Viruses, a team of researchers from Italy investigated the severity of severe acute COVID-19 infections in infants younger than three months and compared them to results from children ovreall.
Evidence suggests that severe COVID-19 symptoms are not as prevalent among kids as they are in adults.
Comorbidities
However, some studies have reported that infants and children with comorbidities are at a higher risk of increasing severity.
A study in the UK showed that COVID infections among newborns led to 42% of severe cases, with 33% requiring respiratory support.
Contrasting studies indicate that infants with COVID infections are either asymptomatic or exhibit mild symptoms.
Theses studies also indicate that severe COVID-19 cases among newborns were associated with premature birth and cardiac abnormalities.
About the study
The present study used data collected from 62 pediatric medical institutions across Italy to understand the outcomes and epidemiological and clinical aspects of severe COVID-19 in infants younger than three months old.
The anonymized data included information on vaccination history, previous medical conditions, laboratory test reports, hospitalization records, diagnostic procedures, prescribed medications, and disease outcomes.
Mild symptoms
The results were consistent with those from other studies and reported that a large proportion of the infected infants below three months of age had mild symptoms or were asymptomatic.
The common symptoms in newborns and infants mostly consisted of fever, runny nose, and cough.
Infants were more likely to have gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea than adults.
Severe symptoms such as respiratory distress, lethargy, and loss of appetite were not frequently reported.
Newborns
Among the newborn cohort in the study, there were nine cases of early-onset COVID-19 (within the first week from birth), and the remaining 50 cases were late onset (during weeks two to four from birth).
The results also found that 2.8% of the cases originated in the hospital, highlighting the need for increased COVID-19 monitoring and usage of personal protective equipment in hospitals.
None of the patients required antivirals, and only one infant was prescribed hydroxychloroquine.
Hospitalizations were required mostly due to the young age of the patients.
Conclusions
Overall, the study corroborated the findings from other studies and reported that severe COVID-19 manifestations are rare in infants younger than three months of age.