COVID-19 Surveillance and research Main navigation What we do Surveillance and research COVID-19 PIMS-TS Acute childhood encephalitis Acute flaccid paralysis Febrile seizures Gram-negative blood stream infections Influenza Intussusception Invasive group A streptococcus disease Invasive meningococcal disease Kawasaki disease Pertussis Social research Varicella and herpes zoster Principal investigator Associate Professor Nigel Crawford The PAEDS network is conducting surveillance of COVID-19 to support the national public health response to the pandemic and is well-placed to prospectively identify children presenting to our hospitals with COVID-19 infection. A novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in late 2019 is a new strain of coronavirus that has caused an evolving pandemic. The disease caused by this virus has been named Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by the World Health Organization (WHO). COVID-19 was initially observed in Wuhan to cause severe pneumonia in adults. Cases have since been identified in many countries, including Australia. Patients with COVID-19 may present with fever, cough, rhinorrhoea and fatigue, with pneumonia and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) occurring in more severe infections. There is still much to learn about COVID-19 in children. Evidence to date shows only a small fraction of confirmed COVID-19 cases are children, and children appear to have relatively low incidence of symptomatic infections and milder disease than adults.1 PAEDS has successfully partnered with FluCAN since 2014 to collect valuable influenza data in hospitalised children. This partnership has expanded to collect enhanced clinical data on all children presenting to our PAEDS sites with COVID-19 to understand the incidence and severity of children requiring hospitalisation for this disease. PAEDS will also be collaborating with other networks, both nationally and internationally, to ensure any increase in severe COVID-19 related outcomes in children are rapidly detected and comprehensively investigated. 1. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30152-1/fulltext Surveillance and research Main navigation What we do Surveillance and research COVID-19 PIMS-TS Acute childhood encephalitis Acute flaccid paralysis Febrile seizures Gram-negative blood stream infections Influenza Intussusception Invasive group A streptococcus disease Invasive meningococcal disease Kawasaki disease Pertussis Social research Varicella and herpes zoster News & events All news & events 07 June 2022 | News Antibody study confirms very low levels of COVID-19 in Australian children in early 2021 19 November 2021 | News It might be uncomfortable to talk about. But obesity puts children at risk of severe COVID 12 October 2021 | News COVID-19 and children: Frequently asked questions 07 September 2021 | News Do kids get long COVID? And how often? A paediatrician looks at the data