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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease in children

Ziad A Memish1, Jaffar A Al-Tawfiq, Abdullah Assiri

  • 1From the *Al-Faisal University, Riyadh; †Saudi Aramco Medical Services Organisation, Saudi ARAMCO, Dhahran; ‡Infection Prevention and Control Program, Public Health Directorate, Ministry of Health; §King Faisal Specialist Hospital; ¶Alhada Military Hospital; ‖Communicable Disease Program, Ministry of Health; **Jeddah Regional Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Jeddah; ††College of Medicine, King Saud University; and ‡‡Minister of Health, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
|April 26, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection can affect children, with most pediatric cases being asymptomatic. However, severe MERS-CoV disease can occur in children, especially those with underlying health conditions.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) primarily affected adults with comorbidities.
  • Limited data existed on MERS-CoV clinical presentation and outcomes in pediatric populations.

Observation:

  • Eleven pediatric MERS-CoV cases were identified in Saudi Arabia.
  • Two children were symptomatic; nine were asymptomatic.
  • The median age was 13 years, with a female predominance (8:3 ratio).

Findings:

  • One symptomatic child died; the other recovered.
  • Diagnosis was confirmed via polymerase chain reaction on nasopharyngeal swabs for most patients.
  • Asymptomatic cases were often detected during contact tracing of older individuals.

Implications:

  • MERS-CoV infection is not exclusive to adults and occurs in children.
  • Childhood MERS-CoV infections are frequently asymptomatic.
  • Underlying conditions increase the risk of severe MERS-CoV disease in pediatric patients.
Abstract

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