The Omicron variant could lead to the development of another respiratory disease called Croup.
Could the Omicron variant have more harmful consequences on children than we think? Young patients seemed to react rather well to the variant that appeared at the end of 2021. Few complications were seen in children, except in patients with comorbidities. This was the conclusion that appeared frequently. However, this form of covid-19 could have another consequence on children.
These are American scientists working at the Boston Children’s Hospital in the United States, who studied the possible link between contamination with the Omicron variant and croup, on young patients.
They published their results on March 8, 2022 in the journal Pediatrics. We discover in this study that the link is real and serious. There would even be a similarity of symptoms between the two diseases. Indeed, the Omicron variant and Croup involve a rise in fever, cough and respiratory problems.
What is croup?
Croup is a condition similar to pharyngitis. It can cause swelling of the larynx and trachea and therefore interfere with breathing. Common symptoms are a hoarse cough, acute breathing, difficulty breathing and fever.
It mainly affects little boys, including babies and children aged 6 months to 3 years. Between March 2020 and January 2022, doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital treated 75 children, mostly boys under age 2 who had developed croup. It turns out that during this same period, the Omicron variant has spread enormously, even becoming the majority.
Croup did not lead to death but very regularly a worsening of the state of health of the children who had to be hospitalized. 12% of these cases were admitted to hospital, many of them in intensive care.
According to experts, Omicron, unlike other variants, could infect the upper airways. This is what would favor the appearance of Croup.