Children suffer seizures & fall unconscious after catching common infection as new variant takes hold – 5 signs to know | The Sun

Posted on : November 25, 2023
Children suffer seizures & fall unconscious after catching common infection as new variant takes hold – 5 signs to know | The Sun

CHILDREN are experiencing seizures and falling unconscious after catching Covid, scientists warn.

Youngsters who contract the Omicron strain are significantly more likely to have an episode than those struck by other coronavirus variants, Japanese researchers found.

Of children hospitalised with Omicron, 16 per cent went on to have a seizure, fall unconscious or be diagnosed with epilepsy.

This compares to just 2.4 per cent of those infected with another variant.

Pirola, an offshoot of the Omicron strain, is the newest variant in the UK.

So far, the BA.2.86 strain hasn't caused a huge uptick in cases.

Read more on omicron

PANIC OVER

Mutant 'Pirola' Covid strain is NO worse than Omicron, UK tests suggest

MUTANT THREAT

New Pirola variant is ‘most concerning since Omicron’ as cases suddenly spike

And there is no evidence to suggest the strain causes a more severe illness than thers that came before it, such as Delta and Alpha.

Previous research found the virus can increase your risk of developing seizures or epilepsy within six months of being infected.

The increased risk was more noticeable in children than adults and was also more common in those who had not been hospitalised with a Covid-19 infection, they found.

The latest study, published in Frontiers, looked at the symptoms of Covid variants in children.

Most read in Health

TOP TRUMPS

The 5 most common types of fart and what each says about your health

COLD TRUTH

I tested 9 cold remedies – the winner left me ‘healthy’ again in 20 minutes

STAYING STRONG

I’m a female bodybuilder after losing SIXTEEN stone… but now I can’t walk

HEALTH RISK

Lidl urgently recalls ‘unsafe to eat’ chocolate bars over plastic fears

Researchers studied the health records of 771 youngsters hospitalised at Tokyo Metropolitan Toshima Hospital with Covid between January 2020 and October 2022.

Some 557 had Omicron, while 214 children had non-Omicron variants.

Of the children infected with Omicron, 92 suffered a type of seizure.

The majority (76 per cent) experienced febrile seizures, which can happen when a child has a fever.

They are relatively common and, in most cases, aren’t serious.

The remaining children reportedly suffered from more serious fits, and one was left with an epilepsy diagnosis.

Just one child from the group who had another variant experienced a seizure.

The authors, from Kitasato University Hospital Sagamihara, Japan, said: "Based on the results of the present and previous studies, it can be concluded that SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants affect more children than do previous variants."

They did not specify whether the children had been vaccinated.

A separate study into seizures among Covid patients have suggested changes to the immune system could bring on the episodes.

What to do if someone has a seizure

A seizure is a sudden, uncontrolled burst of electrical activity in the brain. It can cause changes in behavior, movements, feelings and levels of consciousness.

  • C – Comfort – Cushion their head with something soft, to protect them from injury and keep them comfortable
  • A – Action – Start to time the seizure and clear the area of anything harmful. You could also check if the person has a medical ID or bracelet with more information on how to help
  • R – Reassure – When the seizure has stopped, place them in the recovery position, stay with them and reassure them as they come round
  • E – Emergency

Call 999 if:

  • The seizure continues for more than five minutes
  • The person is not regaining consciousness
  • The person goes straight into another seizure
  • The person has trouble breathing after the seizure
  • The person has never had a seizure before

Source: Epilepsy Action

The 5 Covid symptoms to know

The Zoe Covid Symptom Study, which collects data on self-reported symptoms in the UK, documented the same pattern.

It found a sore throat became more common after the Omicron variant grew dominant in late 2021, while loss of taste and smell fell to the wayside.

According to the Zoe study, other symptoms include: 

  1. Runny nose
  2. Headache
  3. Tiredness
  4. Sneezing
  5. Sore throat

Pirola was first detected in Denmark in July this year and quickly became the dominant strain in the UK.

Government figures suggest numbers have begun to fall, after a sudden uptick in July through to September.

There were 5,694 new cases of Covid reported in England in the week up to November 4, according to the latest government data.

This shows a decrease of 18 per cent compared to the previous seven days.

Source: Read Full Article