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Diarrhea, stomach aches and illness have been identified as symptoms of the coronavirus in children as schools in Ireland reopened.
Symptoms do not appear on the official HSE list of four key Covid-19 signs: fever, cough, shortness of breath, and loss of taste and smell.
In contrast, the US Centers for Disease Control already lists nausea or vomiting and diarrhea as possible symptoms.
Scientists at the University of Belfast in Northern Ireland claim they are the leading indicators of the life-threatening virus in children, but coughing is not as reliable an indicator in young people as in adults.
Dr Tom Waterfield told the BBC: “We are finding diarrhea and vomiting to be a reported symptom by some children and I think it is worth considering adding it to the list of known symptoms.”
The Belfast trial saw around 1,000 children, with an average age of 10 years, blood tests to identify if they had recently had the virus, and 68 had antibodies with a fever, the most common in about a third, according to figures from medRxiv.
Coughing was also a common trait, though less so than fever, and loss of smell and taste occurred only six times, while about 50 percent of those who tested positive reported being asymptomatic.
Thirteen children said they had diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain.
None of the 68 trial subjects had become seriously ill or needed to be transferred to the hospital.
By analyzing those with fever, cough, and loss of senses, Dr. Waterfield and his colleagues correctly identified 76 percent of children with the disease.
And after adding those with stomach problems, this increased to 97 percent.
Dr Waterfield added: “This study shows that approximately half of children are asymptomatic when infected with SARS-CoV-2 and that current UK testing strategies will not diagnose most pediatric infections.”
An official from the UK Department of Health and Welfare said symptoms are constantly being reviewed as you continue to understand the virus and urged people with key signs to get tested.
Millions of children returned to the classroom recently in the UK and Ireland after the coronavirus crisis forced many schools to close for nearly six months.
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