Emilia Vexler
04/24/2020 - 10:43
- Clarín.com
- Society
The first symptom may be fever. The last one, a slight convulsion. But as the renowned infectologist and pediatrician Fernando Polack explains to Clarín , most children go through the coronavirus in an almost "imperceptible" way. The risk, then, is that they infect their grandparents for being asymptomatic.
Sources from the Ministry of Health of the Nation confirmed to this newspaper that, as of this Thursday, there are 82 confirmed cases of boys from 0 to 9 years old. Also, 107 positive of COVID-19 among those who are 10 to 19 years old.
From the Buenos Aires Health portfolio they disaggregated that information. "In the City of Buenos Aires there are 16 infected under 12 years old," they told Clarín . Meanwhile, in the Province, until April 22, 25 positive cases were registered in boys and girls under 10 years of age.
"Boys are not candidates for testing. Having no symptoms, it does not attract anyone's interest to see whether or not they have coronaviruses. So it is impossible to pay attention to the number of children confirmed with coronaviruses. The number given by the The real idea of those infected in a country is the number of deaths. And in Argentina it begins after the age of 40. If you take the number of deaths and multiply it by a thousand, you have more or less idea of how many infected a country has. The number is not perfect. But it is something. You can't even look at the number of sick boys, "says Polack.
What does the coronavirus do in the body of the little ones? Reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest that the virus can infect a patient of any age, with no difference in COVID-19's ability to infect.
"What has been demonstrated," explains the infectologist, "is that those under the age of 12 have much milder disease. That is why in most of them it may not even be noticed. That is why in studies they are sometimes confused and say that ' there were fewer infections. "What there was was less disease. The virus is there but does not cause disease. Mortality, in general, from studies looking at patients up to that age, is 0 from coronaviruses. They are more at risk from influenza or bronchiolitis "
What symptoms can appear? According to Polack, the rule is "none" and the exception is "some symptom of a cold" . Given this "silent" presence in children, he asks parents to maintain social distancing and quarantine with older adults "to prevent transmission of the virus from children to grandparents."
Are children immunized? "Probably. These infections leave them with defenses that will protect them for life against other events against the same germ. So, for them, the coronavirus is going to be an anecdote to tell when they grow up."
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