Coronavirus: Diarrhoea and vomiting could be symptoms in children, study suggests
'Those with symptoms do not typically have a cough or changes to their smell/taste, with gastrointestinal upset a far more common symptom', lead researcher says
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Your support makes all the difference.Gastrointestinal issues like vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps could be a sign of Covid-19 in children, UK researchers have suggested.
A study conducted by Queen’s University Belfast which is yet to be peer reviewed tested the blood of nearly 1,000 children aged two to 15 across the UK - dubbed Covid Warriors by researchers - to see if they had Covid-19 antibodies.
However while researchers found that those who were symptomatic displayed similar symptoms to adults - including a fever and a loss of taste or smell - they say a statistically significant amount of children also developed stomach issues.
Dr Tom Waterfield, researcher from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen’s University Belfast and lead on the study, said that the findings could suggest that gastrointestinal distress should be added to recognised coronavirus symptoms for children
“Following the first wave of the pandemic in the UK, we have learnt that half of children participating in this study are asymptomatic with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and those with symptoms do not typically have a cough or changes to their smell/taste, with gastrointestinal upset a far more common symptom.
“This study has shown that we may want to consider refining the testing criteria for children to include GI symptoms.”
Of the 1,000 children tested, half of who were reported to have symptoms, 68 showed signs the child may have contracted Sars-Cov-2 - the virus which causes Covid-19.
And while 21 of those displayed a fever, a common symptom of the virus, more children displayed gastrointestinal trouble (13 out of 68) than a loss of taste or smell, which was reported by only six of the children.
Coughing was also observed in a number of children - however was found to be less specific when it came to diagnosis, with both children with and without the virus displaying the symptom.
Professor Ian Young, Northern Ireland’s Chief Scientific Advisor said: “Research studies are vital at this time, and thanks to efforts such as the Covid Warriors study, we now know more about Covid-19 in terms of the exposure of children in the UK to the SARS-CoV-2 virus since the pandemic began.
“These significant findings can now be explored further as this research continues to monitor community transmission in children, to help tackle the spread of Covid-19.”
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