In January of this year, Carlos Eduardo, 14, from Curitiba (PR), was diagnosed with Covid. The teenager had a mild illness, with sore throat and low-grade fever.
In May, he started having tremors. Days later, fever, tiredness, stomach pain, diarrhea and decreased strength in the legs.
After going through two pediatricians, the possible diagnosis came: long Covid.
Carlos is no exception. There is an increasing amount of scientific evidence about the effects of long-term Covid also on children of all ages.
One of the most extensive research on this impact has been published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
The study evaluated data from 44,000 children in Denmark aged zero to 14 years, of which 11,000 were diagnosed with Covid from January 2020 to July 2021.
The results show that symptoms varied according to age group. From zero and three years old, 40% of children who had Covid had at least one symptom after two months or more of infection; in the age group from 4 to 11 years old, 38%, and from 12 to 14 years old, 46%.
Among children up to three years old, mood swings, skin rashes and stomach pains were the most common symptoms.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon