The new coronavirus may cause "moderate to severe respiratory illness" in children, a study of six children in China shows.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined 366 hospitalized children between Jan. 7 and Jan. 15 at a hospital in central China. Six of them tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The median age of the six patients was 3 years, and the children had previously been completely healthy.
All six patients had a high fever and cough, and four were vomiting. Four patients had pneumonia. One child was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit.
The patients were treated with antiviral agents, antibiotic agents and other supportive therapies. All of them recovered after being hospitalized for five to 13 days.
Researchers also found that "none of the patients or their family members had had direct exposure to Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market (the initial location linked to COVID-19 cases) or to one another."