The Intriguing Course of Coronavirus and its Age Dependent Variation in the Disease Outcome - A Concise Update

Abstract

Coronavirus is part of a family of enveloped positive-strand RNA viruses that infect mammals. COVID-19 pandemic which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2] has affected hundreds of thousands of people worldwide with a rapid spreading and mutating strain of the virus. Morbidity and mortality of COVID-19 infections vary extensively from asymptomatic, mild to deadly and critical. Strangely, children were found to be protected from severe or deadly critical infections due to various reasons, on the other hand elderly with co-morbidities and immunocompromised adults were the most affected by this virus. Children with COVID-19 infection also present with similar symptoms as adults such as fever, dry cough, runny nose and nasal congestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, anosmia, abdominal pain and fatigue or may remain asymptomatic. Children have been found to harbour large amounts of virus and can probably transmit viruses even when they are asymptomatic hence can be a prominent carrier of the disease. Even though many studies have been conducted to ascertain the reasons for the differential consequences of the disease in adults and children, the present review was done to throw light and fill the gap on the age determined variations in the outcome of covid-19.