No big rise in Covid cases among kids: City doctors

Bengaluru: The Covid cases are rising in Delhi and Mumbai. According to the health bulletins, many kids are being infected with Covid. This has raised fears among Bengaluru parents also. However, city doctors say that parents in the city need not worry as they are not seeing any drastic rise in covid cases among kids.

"Children constitute approximately 20 percent of the general population. Prevalence predictions are only the tip of the iceberg. The reported case counts underestimate the overall burden of COVID-19, as only a fraction of acute infections is diagnosed and reported. Seroprevalence surveys give actual prevalence which is approximately ten times more," said, Dr Lakshmi Leela B, Consultant Paediatrician, Rainbow Children's Hospital, Hebbal.

She said, "We are still not out of risk. Variants are bound to occur often and the risks of having pandemic waves are still there. Omicron sub lineage BA.2, which differs by approximately 40 mutations, demonstrates a replication advantage compared with BA.1, although the difference appears to be less than that between Delta and Omicron."

Dr Lakshmi Leela B added, "Acute Covid illness is generally of milder severity among children. Post Covid complications like MISC are of concern among children, with a prevalence of one in 3000 kids who had acute Covid illness in the past. Vaccination is one of the public health prevention strategies to end the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of the level of community transmission, it is critical that these key prevention strategies are followed."

The NU Hospitals, Consultant Paediatric Nephrologist, Dr Nitin Nayak M said that with active cases of COVID19 infection again the rise in the country, pediatric infections are also expected to increase. Inadequate coverage of pediatric COVID19 vaccination in our country and re-opening of schools also render this population relatively susceptible to the infection.

The infection however, is generally very mild in children. Over 60-70 per cent of children who get COVID-19 are asymptomatic. COVID 19 may sometimes mimic many of the seasonal viral infections, presenting with vomiting, diarrhoea, mild cough and fever. Among the children that are symptomatic, only around 1-2 per cent need intensive care unit treatment. Children with a pre-existing major disease such as heart, kidney, liver disease, or malignancies are at a higher risk of getting severe illness from COVID-19. Children with obesity, diabetes, asthma or chronic lung disease, sickle cell disease, or immunosuppressant are also at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19", Dr Nitin Nayak M added.