Objectives To describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and outcome of hospitalized children with COVID-19 during the initial phase of the pandemic. Methods This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the dedicated COVID-19 hospital of a tertiary care referral center in North India. Consecutive children aged 14 y or younger who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR from nasopharyngeal swab between 1 April 2020 and 15 July 2020 were included. Results Of 31 children with median (IQR) age of 33 (9-96) mo, 9 (29%) were infants. About 74% (n = 23) had history of household contact. Comorbidities were noted in 6 (19%) children. More than half (58%) were asymptomatic. Of 13 symptomatic children, median (IQR) duration of symptoms was 2 (1-5.5) d. Fever (32%) was most common followed by cough (19%), rapid breathing (13%), diarrhea (10%) and vomiting (10%). Severe [n = 4, 13%] and critical [n = 1, 3%] illnesses were noted more commonly in infants with comorbidities. Three (10%) children required PICU admission and invasive ventilation; one died. Median (IQR) length of hospital stay was 15 (11-20) d. Follow up RT-PCR before discharge was performed in 17 children and the median (IQR) duration to RT-PCR negativity was 16 (12-19) d. Conclusions In the early pandemic, most children with COVID-19 had a household contact and presented with asymptomatic or mild illness. Severe and critical illness were observed in young infants and those with comorbidities.

Background: Intestinal parasitism(IP) remains a common problem in school going children. Aims & Objectives: To study the prevalence IP infestation in school going children and to study the relation with type of water supply and sanitation. Material and Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out and a total of 461 stool samples were collected from children under ten years of age from various schools of Rishikesh. The normal saline and iodine mounts of fresh and saturated salt solution concentrated samples were examined. Modified Ziehl Neelsen staining was done for detection of coccidian parasites. The statistical significance within gender, age, drinking water supply, sanitation and other socio-demographic parameters was assessed by Chi-square test. Results: 112 (24.3%) out of 461 were positive for intestinal parasites. Giardia lamblia was the commonest parasite (15.2%) followed by Hymenolepis nana (2.38%), Hookworm (2.17%), Enterobius vermicularis (2.17%), Entamoeba histolytica (2.17%), Ascaris lumbricoides (0.86%), and Cryptosporidium parvum (0.86%). Conclusions: Due to lack of proper sanitation & education along with low socioeconomic background, IP infections are still prevalent among school children. Regular awareness program on promoting good health, maintenance of proper personal hygiene and carrying out regular deworming in schools should be instituted for control.

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