Significant COVID-19 burden in Polish children

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Children are less frequently reported with COVID-19, necessitating investigation into paediatric disease burden.
• Understanding paediatric COVID-19 attack rates is crucial for public health strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze COVID-19 attack rates in the Polish paediatric population.
• To investigate geographical variations in paediatric COVID-19 incidence across provinces.
• To explore correlations between paediatric attack rates, testing per capita, and test positivity rates.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study utilizing publicly available registry data from Poland's 38.38 million population.
• Analysis of 17,921 COVID-19 cases, focusing on 1,191 paediatric cases (6.68%).
• Data stratified by age group and province, with statistical analysis of attack rates, test positivity, and testing volume.

Main Results:

• The paediatric COVID-19 attack rate was 15.49/100,000 children, increasing with age.
• Significant provincial variations in attack rates were observed (9.52-fold difference).
• Paediatric attack rates correlated strongly with adult rates (rho=0.81) and test positivity (rho=0.64), but not with tests per capita.

Conclusions:

• COVID-19 burden in children is significant and warrants attention.
• Local variations in attack rates suggest differences in testing strategies.
• Paediatric COVID-19 outbreaks parallel adult trends, emphasizing the need for awareness and targeted interventions.