Omikron: Are children particularly badly affected?
One symptom in particular appears to be more common
Created: 01/12/2022Updated: 01/12/2022, 1:16 PM
From: Bedrettin Bölükbasi
One symptom in particular appears more frequently in children after infection with the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
© Andreas Poertner / Imago
School is starting again in Germany amid rising corona numbers.
Medical professionals speak out about the danger to children and what symptoms one should watch out for.
Munich - The highly contagious Omikron variant of the corona virus is causing the number of new infections in Germany to rise rapidly.
On Wednesday morning
(January 12)
, the RKI reported a surge to 80,430 infections within 24 hours - a new record.
Although the Omikron wave has not yet been reflected in the hospitals, experts believe that the higher the number of infections, the higher the burden on the hospitals.
Right in the middle of this critical corona situation, school is starting again in Germany.
Previously, the suspicion arose that Omikron hit children more heavily than previously occurring variants.
But is this actually the case?
After further studies, medical professionals take a different view and draw attention to a particular symptom.
Corona: Lessons begin in all federal states - increase in the number of cases due to Omikron expected
Face-to-face teaching has now started again in all federal states.
A significant increase in the number of cases is now also expected in the younger age groups with the start of school, because children and young people will meet again in classrooms after the Christmas holidays.
In addition, the close-knit testing in schools may also increase the number of cases.
At this point, the decisive factor is of course the high level of contagion of the Omikron mutant.
Shortly after the variant was discovered in South Africa, the first assessment by experts was that the mutation could hit children harder than Delta, for example.
"There is an increase in hospital admissions for children up to the age of five," said the South African scientist Michelle Groome at the time.
After all, figures from the US and the UK seemed to support this.
The number of children admitted to hospital with Omikron rose sharply in December in these countries, suggesting a greater effect of the variant on younger age groups.
Omikron dangerous for children?
- German and British experts see no increased risk of the variant
However, much more is now known about the Omikron variant, which makes a new assessment of the risk for children possible.
The German Society for Child and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ) wrote at the end of December that it was still too early for a final assessment, "but experience reports from the Tshwane District in South Africa, from London and Australia are reassuring".
In order to assess the situation, DGJK also used examples from earlier variants and drew a positive picture: “The experience from the previous pandemic waves with the variants Alpha and Delta shows that none of these waves confirmed a particular risk for children . "In addition, the severity of the disease is" in all age groups well below that of the delta variant ".
Great Britain suffers particularly badly from the omicron wave, which gives British knowledge and studies a special meaning.
Even there, however, experts do not see a higher risk for children despite the situation.
Compared to Delta, the risk of hospitalization for school-age children is lower with the Omikron variant, the UK Health Security Agency found in a study at the end of December.
Omicron Symptoms Are Different From Delta - British Doctor Stresses Special Signs In Children
Not only the severity of the disease, but also the symptoms of Omikron differ from variants such as Delta.
The most recent mutation has symptoms such as runny nose, headache, sore throat, fatigue, loss of appetite and sweating.
In contrast to Delta, fewer and fewer patients are reporting symptoms such as loss of smell or taste.
In children, parents apparently need to pay special attention to one sign.
The London family doctor David Lloyd told
Sky News
that he was seeing more and more "unusual rashes" in children with Omicron infection.
"Up to 15 percent of children with Omikron get a rash," said the British doctor.
(bb)
