A study has found that the Omicron variant of the corona virus, which is the main cause of the rapid increase in corona infections worldwide, including China, can cause respiratory infections that can be highly contagious in children and, if the infection is severe, can lead to heart failure.
Infections of the upper respiratory tract, especially the lungs, are called croup. It has the potential to cause severe damage to children.
A team of researchers from the University of Colorado and Northwestern University in the United States tested 18,849 hospitalized children with SARS-CoV-2.
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Croup is a type of respiratory disease known clinically as laryngotracheitis. It affects infants and young children. More than 384 people tested in the study had a respiratory infection.
The Omicron variant, which was discovered in African countries in November last year, soon spread worldwide, becoming more serious than Delta. For the week ending December 25, it dominated the United States the most.
Omicron and its variants
Omicron, a variant of the corona virus, is known to cause less severe disease than the delta (p.1.617.2) variant. Also, it is said to affect the upper respiratory tract.
Among children, the group explained that SARS-CoV-2 can cause serious illnesses, including acute Covid-19 and multicystem inflammatory syndrome.
The Omicron variant caused the third wave of Covid-19 epidemic in India in early January.
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