Respiratory Viral Co-infection with Novel Coronavirus in Children: A Case Series
Abstract Background:The novel coronavirus, COVID-19 was identified in January 2020 initially in Wuhan, China but quickly spread worldwide and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. There are more than 185 countries impacted and the numbers of cases and deaths continues to rise. The rate of coinfections with COVID-19 in children and the clinical implications are unknown.Case Presentation:We describe the clinical presentation and course of three patients with COVID-19 and coinfections with other common respiratory viruses. Two cases were diagnosed with COVID-19 as well as rhinovirus/enterovirus and the third case was COVID-19 and pertussis. Each case had a unique presentations and hospital courses including an emergency room discharge, urgent surgical evaluation and an intensive care unit admission.Conclusions:This is the first US-based case report to discuss coinfections with COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. Decisions regarding diagnosis and management of children in the setting of the current pandemic should account for the possibility of coinfections. We also highlight publish health challenged resulting from children with the novel coronavirus.