Working Group for the Prevention and Control of Neonatal SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Perinatal Period of the Editorial Committee of Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics. [Perinatal and neonatal management plan for prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 infection (2nd Edition)]

[Perinatal and neonatal management plan for prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 infection (3rd Edition)]

Since the global pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in 2020, the virus has been evolving through mutations to acquire enhanced infectivity but reduced virulence. With a wide vaccination coverage among Chinese population, China is entering a new stage of SARS-CoV-2 infection control. The Working Group for the Prevention and Control of Neonatal SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Perinatal Period of the Editorial Committee of Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics released the first and second editions of perinatal and neonatal management plan for prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 infection in January and March 2020, respectively. In order to follow up new prevention and control needs, it is necessary to update the management plan to better guide clinical practice. Therefore, the Working Group formulated the 3rd-edition plan.

Recommendations for the Diagnosis, Prevention, and Control of Coronavirus Disease-19 in Children-The Chinese Perspectives

Ever since SARS-CoV-2 began infecting people by the end of 2019, of whom some developed severe pneumonia (about 5%), which could be fatal (case fatality ~3.5%), the extent and speed of the COVID-19 outbreak has been phenomenal. Within 2.5 months (by March 18, 2020) over 191,127 COVID-19 patients have been identified in 161 countries. By then, over 700 pediatric patients were confirmed to have COVID-19 in China, with only about 58 diagnosed elsewhere. By now, there are thousands of children and adolescents infected. Chinese pediatricians would like to share their experience on how these patients were managed in China and the key recommendations that had guided them in meeting the evolving challenges. A group of experts were summoned by the Chinese Pediatric Society and Editorial Board of Chinese Journal of Pediatrics to extract informative data from a survey on confirmed COVID-19 pediatric patients in China. Consensus on diagnosis, management, and prevention of pediatric COVID-19 were drawn up based on the analysis of such data plus insights gained from the past SARS and MERS coronavirus outbreaks. Relevant cumulating experiences from physicians managing adult patients, expedited reports on clinical and scientific COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 data, and the National Health Committee guidelines on COVID-19 management were integrated into this proposal.

How to Early Identify and Prevent the SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children for Families?

Importance: COVID-19 has become a worldwide pandemic. Many countries have reported cases of infection in children and newborns, and there is a trend of significantly increasing infections among these populations. Therefore, it is important to provide advice and guidance for the prevention and control of COVID-19 in children. Observations: Children are as susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection as adults. The manifestations in children are atypical, and children are much less likely to have critical cases. If children are infected, they may play an important role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 because their symptoms are less obvious and less likely to be detected. To prevent COVID-19 from spreading among children, efforts to prevent, and control the infection should be increased by controlling the source of infection, blocking the route of transmission and protecting the susceptible population. Conclusions and Relevance: The early identification of the COVID-19 in children and the protection of families are important measures to prevent the continued spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Neonates and Children From China: A Review

At the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus began to spread in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The confirmed cases increased nationwide rapidly, in part due to the increased population mobility during the Chinese Lunar New Year festival. The World Health Organization (WHO) subsequently named the novel coronavirus pneumonia Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and named the virus Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Soon, transmission from person to person was confirmed and the virus spread to many other countries. To date, many cases have been reported in the pediatric age group, most of which were from China. The management and treatment strategies have also been improved, which we believe would be helpful to pediatric series in other countries as well. However, the characteristics of neonatal and childhood infection still have not been evaluated in detail. This review summarizes the current understanding of SARS-CoV-2 infection in neonates and children from January 24 to May 1, as an experience from China.

[An interpretation on perinatal and neonatal management plan for prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 infection (2nd Edition)]

The epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection continues so far. The cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been reported in pregnant women and neonates as special groups. Perinatal and neonatal management plan for prevention and control of SARS-CoV-2 infection (2nd Edition) has been worked out by the Editorial Committee of Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics. This paper presents an interpretation on the 2nd Edition of the management plan, so as to facilitate readers to better understand it.