little bit of a surprise,” says Munoz. The boy had to receive mechanical venti

06 December 2020

It was one of the first cases reported in the U.S. of critical care admission of a pediatric patient with Covid-19. It was very early in the pandemic and there was all this information regarding the fact that pediatric patients were less affected, so it was a little bit of a surprise,” says Munoz. The boy had to receive mechanical ventilation for five days and survived after intensive care. “This case was very important to recognize that an infant can become as sick as adult patients. So, don’t just assume that it’s something else.”
Observing how children and infants respond to the virus may lead to new therapies for Covid-19. One of the treatment strategies that is being explored is how to combat a harmful type of inflammation sometimes seen in the acute phase of the infection. “We hope to learn from ongoing studies that certain inflammatory pathways are differentially activated in children with mild infection compared to adults with severe disease. Maybe then we can develop more targeted immunomodulating therapy that we can apply to those with more severe illness, including adults,” says Mithal.
Another avenue of research is looking at the strong initial interferon response, which is probably critical for early antiviral defense and is a system that the SARS-CoV-2 directly interferes with, according to Brodin. This is most likely a mechanism that protects babies and children and it is possible that triggering the same response in adults could help protect them as well.