This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52003804

The article has changed 19 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Coronavirus: What's young people's risk? Kawasaki-like disease: Coronavirus risks for children
(30 days later)
The death of a 13-year-old UK boy who tested positive for coronavirus has renewed questions about the risks to younger people. There are concerns about a severe inflammatory symptoms in children that could be linked to coronavirus.
So far, the health message has been clear - the older you are, the more at risk you are from coronavirus. But the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned young people not to view themselves as "invincible". So what does this mean for how we understand the risks of coronavirus in young people?
So what are the risks at different ages? What were the concerns?
It remains the case that, overall, older people are at higher risk. An urgent alert was issued to GPs after several children presented with symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease - a potentially fatal syndrome that affects blood vessels - including a high temperature, low blood pressure, a rash and difficulty breathing.
But death and sickness data give averages, so within that there will be younger people who do unfortunately suffer more severe bouts of the illness - and in some rare, distressing cases it has been fatal. The syndrome appeared to be similar to the over-active immune response, known as a "cytokine storm", seen in adults with Covid-19. In many cases it seems it's the body's immune response rather than the virus itself that proves life-threatening.
Researchers at Imperial College London found a clear link between age and the likelihood of being hospitalised with coronavirus. And older people were also much more likely, once hospitalised, to need critical care: But these symptoms identified in children are rare events - known to affect about 20 children so far - and not all of them tested positive for Covid-19.
The average age of people being admitted to critical care units in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was 63, an audit by a research charity suggested. It remains the case that, overall, older people are at higher risk from coronavirus. It's far rarer for children to have severe symptoms.
Meanwhile, the US's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said early data suggested 53% of those people hospitalised were over 55 - which means about half were younger. Although extremely rare, there have been a small number cases of children who have become very ill and died.
But when it comes to admissions to intensive care units and fatalities, a far higher proportion were in the oldest age categories (about 80% of fatalities were among the over-65s). The risk at different ages
Individuals aren't the average The average age of people being admitted to critical care units in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was 60 as of 24 April, an audit by a research charity suggested.
In Italy, 0.4% of cases among people in their 40s resulted in death compared with 19.7% of cases in their 80s, while in the US an estimated 0.7% of cases among people in the 40s were fatal. Meanwhile, data from the US's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested over 65s were twice as likely to be hospitalised with coronavirus than 50-64-year-olds - who in turn were more than three times as likely to be hospitalised than 18-49-year-olds. Under-18s were the least effected group.
Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the total number of deaths were "overwhelmingly weighted toward the elderly and those with underlying conditions" but added that the virus "isn't a mathematical formula". "Children have so far accounted for between 1% and 5% of diagnosed Covid-19 cases, have often milder disease than adults and deaths have been extremely rare," according to Prof Adilia Warris, a paediatric infectious diseases specialist at the University of Exeter.
"There are going to be people who are young who are going to wind up getting seriously ill." But, Prof Rosalind Smyth, a consultant in paediatric respiratory medicine at Great Ormond Street Hospital points out, "our understanding of this condition in children is limited.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, a Labour MP and A&E doctor, told the BBC she had treated previously "fit and well" patients in their 30s and 40s who were now in intensive care and "fighting for their lives". "We should investigate fully these children, with SARS-CoV-2, who present with a multi-system inflammatory disease to assess whether this is a presentation of Covid-19," she says.
The WHO says "although the evidence we have suggests that those over 60 are at highest risk, young people, including children, have died". When to seek help
A Chinese study of more than 2,000 children who had contracted the virus found that "although clinical manifestations of children's Covid-19 cases were generally less severe than those of adults' patients, young children, particularly infants, were vulnerable to infection". Whilst coronavirus is infectious to children, it is rarely serious. If your child is unwell it is likely to be a non-coronavirus illness, rather than coronavirus itself.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health advises parents seek urgent help (call 999 or go to A&E) if their child is:
Can children be spreaders?
Just because most children won't develop severe symptoms, doesn't mean they can't carry the virus and spread it to others through coughs and sneezes.
But we still have a lot to learn about how infectious people with no symptoms, or only very mild ones, actually are to others.
"One of the many unknowns with the current coronavirus outbreak is how many children are being infected and potentially passing on infection to others," says Prof Matthew Snape at the University of Oxford. He is about to begin research into how many children and teenagers have been infected and developed immunity.
"Understanding this is vital to understanding how to manage the outbreak response, including decisions about when to re-open schools," he says.
Early modelling, and a more recent study by researchers at the University College London, suggested the negative effects of school closures may outweigh any benefits of slowing the spread of the virus.
Pre-existing conditionsPre-existing conditions
Underlying health conditions also play a role, regardless of age.Underlying health conditions also play a role, regardless of age.
For example, there are about 4.3 million adults in the UK who have asthma, which puts you at higher risk of severe illness if you contract coronavirus - and this affects people of all ages. For example, there are about five-and-a-half million people in the UK of all ages who have asthma - and this puts you at higher risk of severe illness if you contract coronavirus.
What do I need to know about the coronavirus?
In 2013, the last time the Office for National Statistics conducted a general lifestyle survey, 21% of 25-44-year-olds reported having a longstanding illness of some kind.
Some may have undiagnosed conditions which may not be discovered until a coroner investigates.Some may have undiagnosed conditions which may not be discovered until a coroner investigates.
Stop the spread
And while younger people might be less likely to become severely ill, they can just as easily spread the virus to others.
They may have no, or very mild, symptoms and not realise they are infectious.
And coronavirus seems to be considerably more infectious than flu - each person with the virus, on average, passes it on to between two and three other people, experts estimate.
Those two or three people can pass in on to another two or three more people each, and so on. This means a seemingly small number of people quickly turns into hundreds and thousands.
Social distancing breaks the chain of transmission.
Follow Rachel on TwitterFollow Rachel on Twitter
What do I need to know about the coronavirus?