Overview: The history and pediatric perspectives of severe acute respiratory syndromes: Novel or just like SARS

Abstract

Many respiratory viral infections such as influenza and measles result in severe acute respiratory symptoms and epidemics. In the spring of 2003, an epidemic of coronavirus pneumonia spread from Guangzhou to Hong Kong and subsequently to the rest of the world. The WHO coined the acronym SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and subsequently the causative virus as SARS‐CoV. In the summer of 2012, epidemic of pneumonia occurred again in Saudi Arabia which was subsequently found to be caused by another novel coronavirus. WHO coined the term MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) to denote the Middle East origin of the novel virus (MERS‐CoV). In the winter of 2019, another outbreak of pneumonia occurred in Wuhan, China which rapidly spread globally. Yet another novel coronavirus was identified as the culprit and has been named SARS‐CoV‐2 due to its similarities with SARS‐CoV, and the disease as coronavirus disease‐2019. This overview aims to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of these three major episodes of coronavirus outbreak, and conclude that they are essentially the same viral respiratory syndromes caused by similar strains of coronavirus with different names. Coronaviruses have caused major epidemics and outbreaks worldwide in the last two decades. From an epidemiological perspective, they are remarkably similar in the mode of spread by droplets. Special focus is placed on the pediatric aspects, which carry less morbidity and mortality in all three entities.

COVID-19 and obesity in childhood and adolescence: a clinical review

“…Although less frequently, COVID-19 affects the pediatric age group. Some studies indicate that incidence of COVID-19 among children and adolescents can reach 5% of confirmed cases, 7 being slightly higher in males. 3 , 8 In addition, it presents with less severity when compared to adults.…”

Kawasaki disease in siblings and a review of drug treatment

“…This syndrome is recently considered to resemble KD and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). 10 – 12 This apparent link could also be due to the similarities in clinical presentation between COVID-19 and all the other sepsis syndromes, including SIRS, toxic shock syndrome, KD shock syndrome, and MODS. Common respiratory viruses including adenovirus, enterovirus, rhinovirus, coronavirus, and respiratory syncytial virus RSV have long been reported to be associated with KD.…”

Prospective Diary Survey of Preschool Children's Social Contact Patterns: A Pilot Study

“…During the recent SARS pandemic and the MERS outbreak, children showed less clinical illness than adults with multiple underlying diseases. The primary threat was that asymptomatic children might transmit the virus to vulnerable adults [6,12].…”

“…In contrast, children residing in institutions that provided minimal caregiver-child interactions displayed delayed physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development [14]. Despite the many advantages of social contacts for children, the social contact patterns of children may pose concerns regarding infection transmission [12,15,16].…”