Infants likely to be hospitalized from Omicron: Beware of these symptoms-nationwide

Children’s hospitals across Canada are responding to the admission of a record number of children. Omicron The waves that dominate the country.

According to experts, children under the age of 5 are more likely to be hospitalized than other age groups because they are not yet eligible for the vaccine and may experience symptoms different from those of adults.

Canada’s Chief Public Health Commissioner Theresa Tam said Friday that Omicron cases of infants under the age of one were almost seven times more likely to lead to hospitalization.

According to Jesse Pappenberg, a pediatric infectious disease expert and medical microbiologist in Quebec, a high level of community expansion is currently taking place, and many children who come to the hospital for screening happen to happen. I am infected with COVID-19.

Hospitalization may have increased among children compared to previous waves, but now they are generally low, accounting for less than 1 percent of all reported cases of children under 5 years of age. ..

However, “actual number [will] It will be higher than the previous wave, “Tam said.

Infants with respiratory viruses are more likely to be affected more seriously than adults, according to Tam.

Symptoms of COVID-19 vary from person to person, age group, and variants thereof, but according to Papenburg, children under the age of 5 change from completely asymptomatic to mild, as in adults. There is a possibility.

More commonly reported symptoms include new or worsening coughs, shortness of breath, fever, and chills.

In an interview with Global News, Papenburg explained that in very young children Omicron reaches the airways, whereas in adults deeper lung tissue is affected.

“Especially in young children, if they have a lot of secretions, those secretions can block the lower respiratory tract and cause what is called bronchiolitis. Also, some children, especially those under the age of one, have COVID. -19 I have bronchiolitis due to an infection, “Papenbrug said.

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According to the Mayo Clinic, Bronchiolitis is a common lung infection in infants and babies. It causes inflammation and congestion in the small airways of the lungs.

Bronchiolitis begins with symptoms similar to those of a common cold, but then progresses to coughing, wheezing, and sometimes dyspnea.

“The small airways in the infant’s lungs are so small that they don’t need much mucus to block them, and they have difficulty breathing and need assistance from the perspective of either oxygen therapy or a ventilator. “Purpenburg said.

He said the virus that causes this condition, the respiratory syncytial virus, is the number one cause of hospital admission for babies. This is what COVID-19 can cause.

Unlike adults, infants and children may experience the rare complications of COVID-19 infection, which has been identified as a multisystem inflammatory syndrome.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Syndrome is a condition in which various parts of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs, can become inflamed.

“This is a post-infection phenomenon that usually occurs 2 to 6 weeks after being considered a very benign COVID infection,” Papenburg said.

“So these kids can get very sick and very fast,” he added.

He said no pediatric deaths from this condition have been reported so far, adding that hospitals have highly effective anti-inflammatory drugs to help with this hyperinflammatory condition.

To protect children under the age of five who are not vaccinated, Dr. Tam said that adults around him need to enhance the game by protecting themselves with vaccinations and masking.

Currently, Tam said there are still millions of Canadians in need of vaccination. According to official data, more than 6.7 million eligible people still need a first or second dose of their primary series.

She also emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated during pregnancy.

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“Studies have shown that vaccination during pregnancy causes the development of protective antibodies that are inherited by the infant,” she said.

“Parents need to worry,” Papenburg said, as serious consequences for children’s COVID-19 can occur.

“But thankfully, these results are much less frequent than we see in the adult population,” he said. “Even with a large community infection, hospitalizations are seen, but at peak respiratory times … less hospitalizations than are seen during the viral season in children.”

Papenburg also pointed out that pediatric infectious disease specialists like himself are more likely to be hospitalized for influenza than COVID-19 among children.

“”I think the message is that if you have a sick child for any reason, whether it’s a COVID or not, we have the ability to care for that child and the emergency room is open. increase. Our ward is open. Our centralized room is open and functioning, “he said.