Contrary to the general perception that the novel coronavirus spares most kids, hundreds of children below 12 years of age have been infected in India.
And the number seems to be rising. While the fatality rate among child cases is low to nil, what is worrying is that most kids don’t show symptoms of Covid-19.
That they have been infected is known only when they are tested as part of the protocol, after a family member or a close relative tests positive.
According to Dr Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Director of Public Health, Odisha, children can be asymptomatic and their source of infection is mostly a family member. Out of 60 positive cases in Odisha, eight are children.
While the number is small, this constitutes 15% of all cases in the state. Tamil Nadu, which has reported more than 1,300 cases, has at least 40 child Covid-19 patients below 10 years as on Saturday. This includes an eight-month-old baby.
Of Telangana’s 790 cases, 30 are children under 12. Five of them are infants as young as three months. “None of them is critical. They are all being provided symptomatic treatment, similar to their parents and other family members.
The majority of them are primary contacts of people who attended the Markaz at Nizamuddin,” said a doctor at Hyderabad’s Gandhi Hospital, where 500 patients are undergoing treatment. Out of 418 patients in SMS Medical College in Jaipur, Rajasthan, 28 are kids below 10. “We keep the children with infected parents for treatment. This way, there is emotional support for the child,” said Dr R K Gupta, head of paediatrics. In Andhra Pradesh, 19 children have been infected.
This includes a nine-monthold baby girl. In West Bengal, three children — 10 years, six years and nine months — have tested positive for Covid-19. In Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, one of the major hotspots in the country with 892 cases, 36 patients are kids, the youngest being a threemonth old baby. Most of the kids have contracted the virus from their relatives.
In Bihar, six kids have contracted the virus from their parents. Similarly, UP has reported seven child cases. Out of 371 positive cases in Karnataka till Saturday, 20 are of children below 10 years of age.
Dr Manu Chaudhary, Consultant Pediatric Infectious Disease, Rainbow Children’s Hospital said, “Children can be carriers, although they have very mild symptoms. According to studies, only 5-6% of children become serious.
"For Children with asthma, underlying diabetes, rheumatic arthritis etc, it could get difficult. Similarly, children below one year are more susceptible as their immunity is on the lower side.”
In Kerala, 12 children contracted Covid-19. Among them, three have been discharged from hospital.
(With inputs from Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhopal, Jaipur, Patna, Lucknow and Chennai)