Coronavirus has impacted the lives of human populations to a greater extent than one could fathom. And while various research is being conducted on its effect on different age groups, a new study sheds light on the impact it has on infants. Pregnant women and parents everywhere have been worried about the impact of the novel Coronavirus on children. And the recent data and findings are sure to bring some relief to new and expectant parents everywhere.
The earlier data regarding the same has shown that infants make up a very small percentage of the population who have been infected with the virus. A study that was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 398 cases in kids under the age of 1 year. This number makes up about 0.3% of the total cases in the US for which the age was recorded. Moreover, the symptoms exhibited by these kids were found to be mild. The Italian Journal of Pediatrics recently published a review about the recorded cases of Covid-19 among infants up to 6 months old. It was found that the infected fraction of infants only exhibited mild symptoms such as slight cough, runny nose, or fever which seemed to disappear in a week. The other studies also had similar findings (1). Though the results look promising, the question remains: why?
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One of the possibilities could be the lack of AVCE2 receptors in infant cells compared to an adult or elderly person who may have thousands. The fewer receptors in babies make it more challenging for the SARS-CoV-2 virus to invade the human cells and make copies of themselves. Another counter-intuitive explanation is that since the baby’s immune system is underdeveloped, it may not be ready for a strong immune response to the virus. Since most severe cases occur as a result of the human immune system attacking the virus, the weak immune response in babies might work in their favor (2).
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Another favored hypothesis explains how infants younger than one year of age could be at a higher possibility of developing severe symptoms. Previous data from China showed around 10.6% of kids below the age of 1 to be more susceptible to the virus because of their weaker immune system. There’s a correlation between the body’s defense system and the virus. If the immune system is too immature such as in the case of infants, the virus can easily invade the human body. And in elders whose immune system might be overzealous, it could lead to deadly consequences. So, children above the age of 1 are considered to be in a sweet spot since their defenses are neither too weak nor too aggressive.
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A CDC study in April found babies below the age of 1-year-old accounting for the highest fraction of hospitalizations among kids. However, Leena B. Mithal, a pediatric infectious specialist at Northwestern University stated that this could be because newborns usually undergo a full routine examination to eliminate the risk of any underlying bacterial infection. In a study conducted by her at a children’s hospital in Chicago, she found that out of all the infants who tested positive for the novel Coronavirus, none of them required intensive care. This finding further reassures that young infants may not be particularly at risk of developing severe illnesses (3).
All the above findings and research shows promising results that prove that infants are in fact uniquely resilient to the virus. However, we hope further research and study in this regard will help in aiding better treatment plans for everyone, including infants and young kids.
