An infant has tested positive for COVID-19, said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday.
Gov. Beshear said the 8-month-old baby is among the 35 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in the state as of Thursday afternoon.
"That kiddo is in good condition, is being treated at home and right now, everything is all right," Beshear said of the infant. "This is very rare in what we have seen in the coronavirus."
Although children account for a small percentage of confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world, a study-- recently published by the journal Pediatrics --found young children, particularly infants, were vulnerable to the virus infection.
The study, which is the largest pediatrics study in relation to the virus to date, assessed more than 2,000 children under the age of 18 in China, with most of the ill children coming from Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. More than a third of the children were confirmed to have the virus through laboratory testing. The other two-thirds of children involved in the study were suspected cases, having had symptoms of the virus or had been exposed to known cases of coronavirus.
The study found although cases of COVID-19 in children were mild in comparison to cases in adults, children of all ages were susceptible to the virus, with infants being the most vulnerable. Of the 2,143 children studied, most exhibited mild symptoms or became moderately ill. The study showed 125 of the patients were classified to be severely or critically ill, with more than 60 percent of them under the age of 5. Forty children of the severely or critically ill were younger than 12 months.
To read the study in its entirety, click here.
