Number of babies hospitalized in South Africa rises and doctors assess whether omicron is to blame

Data from an area of ​​South Africa heavily hit by the omicron variant of the coronavirus demonstrate a large number of hospital admissions of children under two years of age, raising concerns that the variant may pose risks for young children.

South African scientists said they still cannot confirm a link between omicron and the rise in the number of hospitalized children, which could be related to other factors. Read below what we know and don’t know about the issue.

What is causing concern?

The data, released by South Africa’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), show that 52 children under the age of two were among 452 Covid-19 patients admitted to Tshwane — the metropolitan area that includes the nation’s capital, Pretoria—in the period between November 14th and 28th, a number higher than any other age group.

However, taking into account the size of populations of different age groups, the risk of hospitalization remains higher for people over 60 years of age.

Were admissions linked to the omicron variant?

No. Only a small percentage of positive test samples in South Africa undergo genomic sequencing in order to detect the virus variant involved, due to capacity limitations. This means that there is no way of knowing for sure whether young children hospitalized have been infected with omicrons, according to NICD scientists.

There is also uncertainty as to whether all of the young children included in the data were infected with Covid-19, as not all of them were tested to detect the virus, the scientists said.

For practical reasons, young children who show respiratory symptoms are treated as if they had Covid-19, but it is possible that they have different illnesses such as the flu.

How serious was the disease in the hospitalized children?

The data show that 29% of children hospitalized by Covid-19 in the age group from zero to four years old have the disease in a severe degree — a proportion similar to that of other age groups, and significantly lower than the percentage of severe cases in patients aged over 60 years old.

Among children aged four years and younger, 1% of admissions resulted in death, according to the data. However, the total number of admissions in this age group was 70, which does not make it clear what this 1% figure represents.

The NICD did not respond to questions from Reuters regarding this and other elements of the data presented, saying it would release a new report on pediatric admissions later this week.

Should the possible link with the omicron variant concern us?

Asked whether people should be concerned about the number of admissions for young children, Anne von Gottberg, a clinical microbiologist at the NICD, told Reuters that “not yet”.

“It appears that some of these admissions may have started before the omicron emerged,” she said. “We’re concerned enough to look at the data very, very carefully, but at the moment I’m not so sure the cases can be linked to the omicron.”

What else could be going on?

Gauteng province, where Tshwane is located, experienced a spike in flu cases last month.

“We need to look very carefully at other infections and respiratory diseases to determine the reason for the admissions of children. They were submitted to tests [de Covid-19] when they were admitted or was the admission made as a precaution?” said von Gottberg.

NICD scientists also said that parents of babies and young children who are sick take them to hospital quickly, while patients of other age groups take longer to seek medical help.

When will we know more?

The NICD said it is preparing a report on pediatric admissions that should be available by the end of the week.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that it hoped to have data on the transmissibility of the omicron variant within days, but scientists said it would take two to four weeks to learn more about the variant.

Reuters, translated by Paulo Migliacci.