Does SARS-CoV-2 spare young people? The new coronavirus responsible for Covid-19 seems to have a predilection for the elderly, in whom it causes more severe forms, as shown in a study by a Chinese team (Fei Zhou et al.) Published on March 9. The report of the joint mission to China by experts commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Chinese government went in the same direction: those at the highest risk of severe disease and death are those over the age of 60 and those with pre-existing conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer. In the second case, these conditions can also affect younger subjects, but they are more frequent in older age groups.
It seems established, three months after the start of the epidemic, that young children and adolescents are less prone to develop severe forms of Covid-19 and have a much lower mortality than their elders, if we believe the data. available. The largest study to date has been conducted by the Chinese Center for Disease Control (CCDC) and published on February 17. Covering nearly 45,000 confirmed cases, it clearly shows an increase with age in the risk of death for an individual infected with SARS-CoV-2. This probability goes from 3.6% for 60-69 year olds, to 8% for 70-79 year olds, and to 14.8% for people aged 80 and over. Those in their 50s are less affected (1.3%) and the risk drops significantly below 50: 0.4% for those in their forties and 0.2% for both their thirties, 20-29 years and 10-19 years . No deaths have been reported in children under the age of 10.
Children and young people not necessarily more contagious
However, young people are indeed infected with the new coronavirus. Review Nature Medicine published on March 13 a communication from a Chinese team resulting from the screening of 745 children either having been in close contact with confirmed cases, or belonging to a family affected by the epidemic. Among them, 10 (six boys and four girls, aged 2 months to 15 years) had a test showing the presence of the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 in the samples taken from their nostrils. They had moderate clinical manifestations, and their chest x-rays showed no clear sign of pneumonia. One of the ten children had no symptoms.
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