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See KC, Liew SM, Ng DCE, Chew EL, Khoo EM, Sam CH, Sheena D, Zahilah Filzah Z, Chin SY, Lee PY, Tan LP, Farah Najwa Z, Sabrina S, Them WW, Saipriya T, Muhammad Zamakhshari ZA, Cheah WK, Peariasamy K, Goh PP, Ibrahim H. COVID-19: Four Paediatric Cases in Malaysia. Int J Infect Dis 2020; 94:125-127. [PMID: 32304822 PMCID: PMC7158792 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2020.03.049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Revised: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This is a brief report of 4 paediatric cases of COVID-19 infection in Malaysia BACKGROUND: COVID-19, a coronavirus, first detected in Wuhan, China has now spread rapidly to over 60 countries and territories around the world, infecting more than 85000 individuals. As the case count amongst children is low, there is need to report COVID-19 in children to better understand the virus and the disease. CASES In Malaysia, until end of February 2020, there were four COVID-19 paediatric cases with ages ranging from 20 months to 11 years. All four cases were likely to have contracted the virus in China. The children had no symptoms or mild flu-like illness. The cases were managed symptomatically. None required antiviral therapy. DISCUSSION There were 2 major issues regarding the care of infected children. Firstly, the quarantine of an infected child with a parent who tested negative was an ethical dilemma. Secondly, oropharyngeal and nasal swabs in children were at risk of false negative results. These issues have implications for infection control. Consequently, there is a need for clearer guidelines for child quarantine and testing methods in the management of COVID-19 in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- K C See
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - S M Liew
- Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Malaysia
| | - David C E Ng
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Tuanku Jaafar, Seremban, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - E L Chew
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sultanah Maliha, Langkawi, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - E M Khoo
- Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Malaysia
| | - C H Sam
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sultanah Maliha, Langkawi, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - D Sheena
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - Z Zahilah Filzah
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - S Y Chin
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - P Y Lee
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - L P Tan
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - Z Farah Najwa
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - S Sabrina
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - W W Them
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - T Saipriya
- Department of Paediatric, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | | | - W K Cheah
- Department of Medicine, Hospital Taiping, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - K Peariasamy
- Institute for Clinical Research, Block B, National Institute of Health, Setia Alam, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
| | - P P Goh
- Institute for Clinical Research, Block B, National Institute of Health, Setia Alam, Ministry of Health, Malaysia.
| | - H Ibrahim
- Division for Research and Technical Support, Ministry of Health, Malaysia
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