COVID-19 is more severe when children have secondary viral infections

Study shows that COVID-19 children under 5 years old had worse symptoms when they had RSV and the flu. Although this isn’t surprising, it helps us understand why this season has been so difficult.

A new study Parents and pediatric healthcare professionals likely already know this: Children with COVID-19 or another infection such as RSVThey are more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than their peers.

The study will be published in the February 2023 issue. PediatricsPublished online on January 18. The study examined more than 4,300 children in the United States who were hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 2020 and February 2022. It concluded that pediatric COVID-19 patientIf they had another virus such as rhinovirus or enterovirus, children under 5 years of age were significantly more likely have severe respiratory disease.

“This research confirms the observations of many,” says Dr. Mark Kline, physician-in-chief and chief academic officer at Children’s Hospital of New Orleans. “Over the past year, more and more children hospitalized with COVID-19 have been co-infected with one or more other viruses, including RSV, influenza, and rhinovirus/enterovirus.”

The news may not come as a surprise to Kline—or parents. However, it may feel like another troubling headline in a challenging season that has included a “tripledemic” of COVID-19, RSV, and flu cases, according to experts, including White House COVID-19 response coordinator Ashish Jha.

What can the new research reveal about our children and how can we help them? Three experts weigh in.

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Why are children getting multiple viruses at once?

RSV, COVID-19 and flu are all highly contagious. Dr. Michael HarrisM.D., pediatric emergency room physician at Northwell Health’s Cohen’s Children Medical Center in New York.

Anyone can get them. However, children are at greater risk due to their academic and social lives.

Dr. Harris states that children are more likely to interact with their peers than adults. They attend school and daycare. They are involved in contact sports.”

Children also have had less exposure to virus over their lifetimes, which makes their immune systems weaker. They are more likely to contract another infection if they become ill because their immune system fails to fight off the one virus. Sharon NachmanM.D., Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Nachman also stated that many children weren’t exposed to common viruses like the flu or RSV due to COVID-19-related daycare and school closures, as well as reduced socializing. Because the immune system has not been taught how to fight these viruses, more children are being sickened by multiple of them at once.

“Those viruses have not disappeared. They just didn’t seem to be there. [we weren’t seeing one another],” Dr. Nachman says.

Related:8 Ways to Help Boost Your Child's Immune System

Is This Study Evidence of Why the Sick Season Feels Worse in 2018?

Although the study spans March 2020 through February 2022 it could be used to explain other aspects of human behavior. why nearly half of parents They said that their child had been sick since October. Or, why? the CDC released a health advisory About increased respiratory activity in children especially in the early November?

Experts believe so.

Dr. Kline states that this is one of the reasons we have seen an increase in hospitalizations for respiratory illnesses over the past few months.

Dr. Nachman also pointed out that RSV was prevented by taking precautions like social distancing or masking. People returning to pre-pandemic lifestyles increase the risk of illness.

“We did such a good job protecting everybody for a good reason…now, we’re not protecting everybody,” Dr. Nachman says. “Now, nobody is hiding.”

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What is the best time to take your child to the ER?

Dr. Harris believes that the recent surge in pediatric admissions for asthma has slowed down and hopes that it continues. Parents need to know when their child should be taken to the ER to receive further evaluation. Dr. Nachman and Dr. Harris say that a high fever alone is typically not a reason to take a child to the ER—unless otherwise noted for health reasons by your child’s provider.

Dr. Nachman advises to search for problems in the lungs.

She says, “If you take off a child’s shirt and see that the space between their ribs is sucking in and getting out, it means they are having difficulty breathing.”

Dr. Nachman said that a diminished appetite is common, but that refusal to drink and poor diaper output are warning signs. Trust your gut if you are unsure.

I tell my parents, “You are my best detective. You can see what your child looks like when they’re mildly ill, and what it feels like when they’re really sick. Dr. Nachman states that if you feel the need to speak to me by phone, you can do so.

“I think that we need to use the same common sense that we used for the past 20 years. Keep your children home if they are ill.

How to protect your kids

Parents can protect their children from the flu/RSV season, which is likely to continue. Dr. Nachman recommends that parents go back to the basics.

“Good eating habits—water, vegetables, and fruit—and good sleep habits are critically important,” she says. It allows the body to produce the correct hormones at the appropriate time. It boosts the body’s immune system. Although it is difficult, it makes a huge difference in our lives.

Dr. Harris hopes that people will remember the lessons learned during the pandemic.

“I think that we must follow the common sense that we should be following for the last twenty years. Dr. Harris recommends keeping your children home if they have a fever. “Wearing masks. I know it’s become a taboo, but if you are in a highly-populated area like a bus, subway, or on a flight, chances are someone has something you don’t want, whether that’s COVID, the flu, or a cold—I don’t think any of us want any of these viruses.”

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Dr. Kline encourages parents to immunize and strengthen their children against COVID-19, flu and other illnesses. For children aged 6 months or older, the program is available. COVID-19 vaccine and bivalent booster, but CDC data shows a wide variety of vaccination rates for children. The state determines whether between 2% and 40% of 6 to 12 month-old children have had their first dose.

Even if you take all precautions, your child is likely to get sick.

Dr. Nachman states that “the good news is that every virus that your child is currently having does help their immune systems become better as they age.” “Even though we wish our children would not have these viruses, it helps their immune system to be ready for the next time.”

Dr. Nachman says that this doesn’t mean you should forgo precautions or host “chicken pox” parties for respiratory illness. It might make you feel less guilty if your child brings home something.