Serious childhood infections have ‘dropped dramatically’ during pandemic

Study found improved hygiene may have helped to reduce severe illnesses

Images of NHS workers displayed on hoardings outside a temporary field hospital at St George's Hospital in London. The UK declared 141,472 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, a sharp reduction from the more than 200,000 reported daily over the Christmas and New Year period. Reuters

Commuters wait to catch a London-bound train in Bracknell, Berkshire. Workers are returning to offices in the first full working week of 2022 even though guidance under England’s current plan B measures is to work from home. PA

No lateral flow tests are available at this pharmacy in Chertsey, Surrey. PA

A woman adds hearts to the National Covid Memorial Wall near St Thomas' Hospital in London. Getty Images

A shopper wearing a face covering browses clothes in a charity shop in north London. AFP

Ambulances parked outside the Royal London Hospital in east London. AFP

Fans show their coronavirus passes for checking outside Anfield stadium before the FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Shrewsbury Town, which the home side won 4-1. Reuters

People take part in the so-called Freedom Rally, an anti-vaccine demonstration organised by campaign group Scotland Against Lockdown, in Glasgow city centre. PA

Staff working at a Covid-19 intensive care unit at Kings College Hospital in south London. PA

Coronavirus restrictions led to a sharp fall in the number of children being admitted to hospital with infections, a study has found.

Researchers at the University of Oxford said admissions for life-threatening illnesses such as sepsis, measles and meningitis fell dramatically at the start of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, probably because of social distancing and improved hygiene.

They have called for more studies to find how children can better be protected when pandemic-related safety measures are no longer practicable.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, examined hospital admissions for children up to the age of 14 for common and severe childhood infections in England between March 2017 and the end of June 2021.

Among the common respiratory infections, the greatest percentage reduction was for influenza.

The number of flu-related hospital admissions decreased by about 94 per cent, from 5,379 to 304, in the 12 months from March 1, 2020.

For bronchiolitis, admissions decreased by more than 80 per cent, from 51,655 to 9,423 in 2020-21.

Among the severe invasive infections, percentage reductions ranged from 26 per cent for osteomyelitis to 50 per cent for meningitis.

And for the vaccine-preventable infections, reductions ranged from 53 per cent for mumps to 90 per cent for measles, for which admissions fell from 149 to 15 in 2020-21.

The researchers concluded that the measures used to stem the tide of Covid-19 – social distancing, school closures and minimal group activities, as well as reduced travel with its associated reduced air pollution – also contributed to the fall in admissions for common and severe childhood infections.

Some children with conditions such as asthma were also “substantially protected” from other infections that could havey been “life-threatening”, they said.

Jannik, 9, gets vaccinated in an airplane at Cologne Bonn Airport in Germany. The city is hosting a special vaccination event for children aged 5 to 11 in a decommissioned Airbus A300 Zero G. EPA

People place candles in Neumarkt Square, Dresden to commemorate the 1,400 lives lost to the coronavirus in the German city. AFP

Pupils take a sample for a rapid test during the first lesson after Christmas holidays at the Freiherr-vom-Stein secondary school in Bonn, western Germany. AFP

Protesters demonstrate against Covid-19 measures and compulsory vaccination in Frankfurt, Germany. AP

A cyclist rides past a tent where patients are undergoing coronavirus tests, at the Opera square in Paris. AFP

A protestor in Nantes, France throws a tear gas canister during a demonstration against a bill that would transform the country's current coronavirus health pass into a 'vaccine pass'. Reuters

A group of young students wearing masks disinfect their hands before entering the Luis Amigo school after the Christmas holidays, in Pamplona, northern Spain. AP

A man receives a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine at a Red Cross centre in Rome. Reuters

Traffic police check the green pass of public transport passengers in Turin, Italy. EPA

Empty seats inside the stadium before a football match between Udinese and Atalanta, as coronavirus restrictions limit the capacity to 50 percent in Udine, Italy. Reuters

People sit in a waiting area in case of an immediate reaction after receiving booster shots at a Covid-19 vaccination centre set up in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. AFP

People in Vienna scream at police as officers stop a demonstration against Austria's coronavirus restrictions. AP

Other measures such as increased cleaning, better hand hygiene, the use of face masks and “improved respiratory etiquette” may have also contributed to the reduction.

They said more recent data indicate that after May last year, when most Covid-related restrictions in England ended, croup and upper respiratory tract infections became more common than usual.

“Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been major reductions in hospital admissions for respiratory, severe invasive, and vaccine preventable infections in children in England,” the researchers wrote.

“The findings indicate the extent to which measures related to the control of Covid-19 can also impact on the transmission of other specific infectious diseases in childhood.”

They said the study’s outcome indicated “that children with severe underlying comorbidities, including extremely preterm infants, those with congenital cardiac disease and those with asthma, have been protected from severe and potentially life-threatening infection”.