WHO says coronavirus is not mutating, but that doesn’t mean it is not dangerous – CNN

Researchers are learning more about howCovid-19affects children, and a new study finds that among a group of children and adolescents in New York who were hospitalized with the disease, about a fifth 22% had obesity.

The study,published in the journal The Lancet on Wednesday, suggests thathaving obesity could put a child at an increased risk of getting severely ill withCovid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

"Obesity was the most significant factor associated with mechanical ventilation in children 2 years and older," the researchers added. "Contrary to some previous reports, infants seemed largely spared severe manifestations."

More on the study: The study included data on 50 young people, ages 21 and younger, who were diagnosed withCovid-19between March 1 and April 15 and hospitalized for at least a day or longer.

The data, which came from the patients' electronic medical records, showed that about half of the patients 52% had an adult family member or was living with someone with symptoms associated withCovid-19. None of the patients had a history of international travel around the time they were diagnosed.

Most of the patients 80% had a fever, and 64% had some respiratory symptoms, but three of the patients only experienced gastrointestinal problems, the researchers found. Nine of the patients, or 18% of them, needed mechanical ventilation and one patient died.

Overall, the researchers found that obesity was significantly associated with needing mechanical ventilation among children ages 2 or older. Among the patients who required mechanical ventilation, six of them 67% had obesity.

About the study: The study had some limitations, including that the group of patients included in the datawas smalland half of the patients were Hispanic.The researchers noted thatthe hospital serves a predominantly Hispanic community.Somore research is needed to determine whether similar findings would emerge among a more diverse group of patients.

Yet overall, "studies such as this one emphasize that certain groups of children may be disproportionally affected. In this study, 50% were Hispanic,"Dr. Jason Newland of theWashington University School of Medicine in St Louis, and Dr. Kristina Bryant of theUniversity of Louisville in Kentucky, co-wrote in an editorial that accompanied the new study.

"As theCovid-19 pandemic has spread and created adversity for many people physically, emotionally, and economically, the groups most affected have been those of color," Newland and Bryant wrote.

"Going forward, multicenter collaborative studies are needed to define the infectious and postinfectious sequelae ofCovid-19in children in communities across the US, including rural communities, and in all racial and ethnic groups. We also need to understand the association of the pandemic with adverse health outcomes in children beyond the consequences of viral infection," they wrote.

The researchers noted that on May 15, "the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a precipitous drop in the ordering and administration of pediatric vaccines. Are outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases on the horizon? That could be the next important chapter of the evolvingCovid-19story."

Read the original:
WHO says coronavirus is not mutating, but that doesn't mean it is not dangerous - CNN