Symptom profile of COVID-19 in children in the Metro South area of Brisbane, during the first SARS-CoV-2 Omicron wave: a population-based survey.

Abstract

Background: An increase in gastrointestinal infections in Early Childhood Education and Care notified to the public health unit in the Metro South area of Brisbane, Australia, coincided with the peak of the first Omicron wave in 2022. This made public health messaging and advice on outbreak management challenging. We hypothesised that gastrointestinal symptoms were a feature of the Omicron variant infection. At the time, there was a paucity of data on presenting symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 among Australian children.

Objectives: To describe the symptom profile of COVID-19 in children residing in a large Metropolitan area in Queensland during the first Omicron wave.

Methods, setting, and participants: Participation was invited from cases of COVID-19 notified in those 17 years or younger via the Queensland Notifiable Conditions System between 7 February and 13 March 2022. A retrospective self-reported survey of these children was conducted at the end of May 2022 to understand the symptom profile and severity of infection.

Results: Of the 285 responses received, 91% reported being symptomatic; the most common symptoms noted were fever (75%), fatigue (57%), sore throat (55%), headache (55%), cough (50%) and runny nose (48%). Gastrointestinal symptoms were reported in 33% of cases. A majority of the children had either fever (31%) or respiratory symptoms (40%) as the first symptom, with only 7% reporting gastrointestinal symptoms as their first symptom. Close to three-quarters of the children had symptoms that lasted for four days or less. Medical advice/treatment was sought by 17% of symptomatic cases.

Conclusions: The majority of children with COVID-19 during the Omicron wave had fever or respiratory related symptoms as their first symptoms. Gastrointestinal symptoms were uncommon as the first symptom or in conjunction with other symptoms. Understanding the symptom profile in children helps inform institutional settings of their infection control practices and public health messaging.