How lethal is SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia when compared with respiratory syncytial virus and influenza in young children?

Abstract

Background and objective SARS-CoV-2 is known to cause milder disease in children when compared with adults, but the extent of this is unclear. The aim of this article is to estimate the case fatality rate (CFR) for SARS-CoV-2 infection and SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in young children aged <5 years, and compare this with estimated CFRs for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza. Methods This article reviews published case series of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the paediatric population and epidemiological data on COVID-19 published on official government websites internationally and in Australia. Results The CFR of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in children aged <5 years is estimated to be 0.15-1.35%, which is lower than the estimated CFR of RSV pneumonia of 0.3-2.1%, but higher than the estimated CFR of influenza pneumonia of 0.14-0.45%. Discussion SARS-CoV-2 infection is likely to be less lethal than RSV in children aged <5 years, but more lethal than influenza.