Long Covid DOES exist in children…and they suffer from ‘problems with almost every organ’, study finds

Children who contract Covid are more likely to suffer debilitating, persistent symptoms than adults, groundbreaking new research shows.

US scientists found that children had long-lasting symptoms “in almost every organ system” after being struck by the virus – a phenomenon now better known as long-Covid.

The researchers, who followed nearly 4,000 children who were infected, also found that younger children were more likely to have memory or concentration problems, and teenagers were more likely to have memory problems. loss of taste or smell.

Experts today called the findings “compelling evidence” that children are not “faking it” and warned: “We will have to be prepared for this for a generation”.

It comes after Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter Violet revealed last month that she had suffered a post-viral illness in 2019. In an impassioned speech before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, she urged medical facilities to impose a “mask mandate.”

The 18-year-old called on the administration to “address the long Covid crisis” by beefing up pandemic-era protections in hospitals and government buildings. Pictured: Jennifer Garner with Violet Affleck

The 18-year-old called on the government to “tackle the prolonged Covid crisis” by beefing up security in hospitals and government buildings during the pandemic.

US officials suggest that one in 10 people who contract the virus will develop long-term Covid, while aIt is believed that around two million people in the UK are living with the condition, including 60,000 children.

Professor Lawrence Kleinman, an expert in paediatrics and public health at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and co-author of the study, said: ‘We have compelling evidence that Covid is not just a mild, benign illness for children.

‘Some children are seriously affected by it, they don’t pretend or make it up.

“This is a new chronic disease in children with all the uncertainties that come with it. We need to be prepared to deal with it for a generation.”

It has long been thought that symptoms of long Covid range from fatigue and shortness of breath to muscle and joint pain.

In the new study, researchers analyzed the results of a survey completed by the parents or guardians of nearly 900 school-age children aged 6 to 11 and more than 4,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17.

Of the school-going children, 751 had contracted a Covid infection. Among adolescents, this figure was 3,109.

The study assessed 74 known and possible symptoms of long-term Covid across nine body sites, including the heart and lungs, neurological, menstrual and gastrointestinal systems.

US scientists found that children were left with long-lasting symptoms ‘in almost every organ system’ after being attacked by the virus, a phenomenon now better known as long Covid.

Researchers discovered Forty-five percent of school-age children with Covid-19 had at least one persistent symptom after initial recovery, compared with 33 percent of uninfected children.

More than a third (39 percent) of adolescents infected with Covid reported one persistent symptom, compared with 27 percent of uninfected adolescents.

But the most common symptoms in adolescents were loss of smell and taste, followed by low energy, muscle pain and fatigue.

Among school-age children, memory and concentration problems topped the list, followed by stomach pain, headaches, and back and neck pain.

For comparison, adults affected by the virus reported 37 symptoms more often than those who did not have Covid, including brain fog and gastrointestinal and heart complaints.

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical AssociationAccording to the scientists, children showed long-lasting symptoms after Covid infection “in almost every organ system, with the vast majority involving multiple organ systems.”

Dr. Tanayott Thaweethai, co-author of the study and an expert in biostatistics at Harvard University, also said: ‘This work describes the first data-driven approach to reveal symptom patterns in school-age children and adolescents, both of which differ from those in adults.

‘We hope this will lead to a better understanding of long-Covid in children.’

Ministers have repeatedly said they will not impose lockdowns unless a Covid variant emerges that promises to be the end of the spectrum.

A wall of immunity among the population, built up by repeated waves of infection and vaccination campaigns, has given authorities the confidence to consign pandemic-era measures to history.

A spike in Covid cases could still lead to mass illnesses across the country, causing chaos in schools, health care and public transportation.

But authorities are also no longer tracking the prevalence of the virus in the same way as before, as part of the government’s reform towards pre-Covid normality.