Disappearance of Seasonal Respiratory Viruses in Children Under Two Years Old During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Monocentric Retrospective Study in Milan, Italy

Ippolito, Giulio; Vecchia, Adriano La; Umbrello, Giulia; Pietro, Giada Maria Di; Bono, Patrizia; Scalia, Stefano; Pinzani, Raffaella; Tagliabue, Claudia; Bosis, Samantha; Agostoni, Carlo; Marchisio, Paola

doi:10.3389/fped.2021.721005

Cited by 46 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Firstly, the role of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be entirely ruled out. In fact, some authors have previously underlined that the pandemic had an affect on the circulation of respiratory viruses [ 14 , 33 – 35 ]. In consequence, the shift of the incidence peak of ARTIs in younger age groups could have been the result of this new and unexpected epidemiological scenario.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dramatic COVID-19 outbreak and the widespread adherence to social distancing, hand washing, wearing of face masks, and lockdown have undoubtedly had an impact on the epidemiology of ARTIs in children. According to reports from different parts of the world, ARTIs in children decreased during the pandemic as a result of the combination of the different measures adopted to combat the pandemic [ 9 – 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Incidence of acute respiratory infections in preschool children in an outpatient setting before and during Covid-19 pandemic in Lombardy Region, Italy

Mameli

Picca²,

Buzzetti³

et al. 2022

Ital J Pediatr

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Introduction The incidence of acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) in children is difficult to estimate because they are typically treated in outpatient settings and the majority of epidemiological data originate from hospital settings and refer to the most severe illnesses. Therefore, the incidence of ARTIs in a real-world setting remains largely unexplored. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the incidence of ARTIs, upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children aged 0–5 years in an outpatient setting. Methods This prospective cohort study was conducted in Lombardy, Italy, from October 1st, 2019, to March 31st, 2021, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March 2020. Caucasian healthy children aged 0–5 years were recruited from 69 Family Pediatricians (FP) and followed-up in an outpatient setting. Data were collected whenever a child was referred to FP and ARTI was diagnosed (Covid-19 related ARTI were excluded). The primary outcome was an estimate of the incidence of ARTIs. The incidence of ARTIs in different age groups and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of ARTIs were secondary outcomes. Results We enrolled 484 children, 249 male (51.8%), mean age of 2.39 ± 1.68 years. The mean estimated incidence of ARTIs was 12.1/100 children × 30 days (95% CIs: 9.5–12.9), with the highest value observed in infants aged 1–12 months (24.9/100 children × 30 days; 95% CIs: 17.6–28.9). The mean estimated incidence of URTIs was higher than that of LRTIs (8.3 – CIs: 7.6–8.9 vs 3.8/100 children × 30 days – CIs: 6.4–4.3, respectively). The comparison of ARTIs, which occurred in the pre-pandemic winter, to those measured during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealed an impressive 82.1% drop in the incidence rate (CIs: 77.8–85.7). Conclusions This study showed that infants aged 1–12 months are more likely to develop ARTIs than older children and that COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered the epidemiology of ARTIs in children aged 0–5 years.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidence of acute respiratory infections in preschool children in an outpatient setting before and during Covid-19 pandemic in Lombardy Region, Italy

Mameli

Picca²,

Buzzetti³

et al. 2022

Ital J Pediatr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Few recent studies have shown a decrease in multiple respiratory agents. [22][23][24][25][26] Interestingly, a case series study, that investigated hospitalisation rates of children under the age of 2 years due to lower respiratory infections, revealed a significant reduction in hospitalisation mainly caused by enveloped viruses. Incidence of unenveloped viruses such as rhinoviruses/enteroviruses did not show such impressive decrease.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Incidence of unenveloped viruses such as rhinoviruses/enteroviruses did not show such impressive decrease. 26 Another contributing factor to the observed decline of the number of influenza cases could be the reduction of healthcare utilisation. 27 The number of visits of both age groups reported by the Sentinel surveillance system has in fact decreased during the period 2020/2021.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The lower basic reproduction number (R 0 ) of influenza20 and IMD21 compared with that of SARS-CoV-2, is a possible explanation for the much stronger impact that those measures had on their transmission. Few recent studies have shown a decrease in multiple respiratory agents 22–26. Interestingly, a case series study, that investigated hospitalisation rates of children under the age of 2 years due to lower respiratory infections, revealed a significant reduction in hospitalisation mainly caused by enveloped viruses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Population-based study of influenza and invasive meningococcal disease among Greek children during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ktena

Kourkouni²,

Kontopidou

et al. 2022

bmjpo

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BackgroundAiming to the containment of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, governments worldwide have implemented a series of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Many of them and especially school closures have impacted the circulation of multiple airborne pathogens among children and adolescents. This study investigates the incidence of influenza and invasive meningococcal disease among children aged 0–14 years in Greece during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsData regarding the number of influenza-like illness cases, influenza-related paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions and invasive meningococcal disease cases among children 0–14 years old were obtained from the National Public Health Organization. The incidence of the two diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic period (2020/2021) was compared with that of the six preceding seasons (2014–2019).ResultsA notable decrease was observed in both influenza and invasive meningococcal disease cases during the period 2020/2021 compared with the years 2014–2019. The mean annual rate of influenza-like illness cases and influenza-related PICU admissions in children 0–14 years old has reduced by 66.9% and 100%, respectively, while the mean annual invasive meningococcal disease rate has declined by 70%. Both weekly influenza-like illness and monthly invasive meningococcal disease rates were significantly decreased.ConclusionsThe activity of influenza and invasive meningococcal disease in the children and adolescents of Greece has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Reduced transmission is likely related to the public health measures that were implemented to control the pandemic. The value of these measures may have relevance to the future management of influenza or invasive meningococcal disease epidemics.

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Epidemiological changes of common respiratory viruses in children during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Wang

2022

Journal of Medical Virology

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A variety of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been implemented to control the transmission of COVID-19 in China. The effect of NPIs on other common respiratory viruses in children of different age groups has not been examined thus far. Respiratory specimens of children were collected to detect common childhood respiratory viruses, including influenza A (FluA), influenza B (FluB), adenovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), at the Children'

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Disappearance of Seasonal Respiratory Viruses in Children Under Two Years Old During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Monocentric Retrospective Study in Milan, Italy

Cited by 46 publications

References 36 publications

Incidence of acute respiratory infections in preschool children in an outpatient setting before and during Covid-19 pandemic in Lombardy Region, Italy

Incidence of acute respiratory infections in preschool children in an outpatient setting before and during Covid-19 pandemic in Lombardy Region, Italy

Population-based study of influenza and invasive meningococcal disease among Greek children during the COVID-19 pandemic

Epidemiological changes of common respiratory viruses in children during the COVID‐19 pandemic

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