The first pediatric patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan; The risk of co-infection with other respiratory viruses.

Kakuya, Fujio; Okubo, Hitoshi; Fujiyasu, Hiroaki; Wakabayashi, Iori; Syouji, Masayo; Kinebuchi, Takahiro

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a severe infectious disease of the respiratory tract caused by a novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, and has a high mortality rate. The disease emerged from Wuhan, China, in late 2019, and spread to Japan, including Hokkaido, in January 2020. In February 2020, three children were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Furano, Hokkaido, Japan. During this period, influenza and human metapneumovirus infections were prevalent among children in the Furano region. Two of the three cases experienced co-infection with other respiratory viruses, including influenza virus A or human metapneumovirus. To the authors' knowledge, the cases described in the present report were the first pediatric patients with COVID-19 in Japan. In children with COVID-19, the possibility of co-infection with other respiratory pathogens should be considered.