- There is no gender difference.
- The proportion of severe and critical illness in different age groups showed that children of < 1 year and 1-5 years old were more vulnerable than older children.
- In this study, only 5.9% of patients had severe or critical illness, which is fewer than the adult population. However, there were more severe and critical cases in the suspected group than in the confirmed group (only 34% were confirmed by laboratory testing). This means that some of the severe and critical cases might have been caused by other pathogens or other diseases.
- The transmission seems to be mostly person-to-person.
This retrospective epidemiological study was made on 2143 patients ranging from one day to eighteen years old, who were reported by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Diagnosis was suspected based on symptomatology appearing at maximum two weeks after possible exposure. Only 34% of the cases were confirmed with laboratory testing. Also, the study took place in a time of the year when many viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus or influenzae virus also affect children and may produce symptoms similar to those of the COVID.
Dong et al (March 2020). Epidemiological Characteristics of 2143 Pediatric Patients With 2019 Coronavirus Disease in China. Journal of Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-0702