How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus?

We realize “Coronavirus and kids” is a difficult topic to explain to kids. The guide below offers talking points for how to answer questions about this tough topic.

 It’s not intended to be used as a script. It’s meant to arm you with the information you need if you choose to bring up the topic or if kids ask questions about it.

Source of the virus

MERS-CoV is a zoonotic virus, which means it is a virus that is transmitted between animals and people. Studies have shown that humans are infected through direct or indirect contact with infected dromedary camels. MERS-CoV has been identified in dromedaries in several countries in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

The origins of the virus are not fully understood but, according to the analysis of different virus genomes, it is believed that it may have originated in bats and was transmitted to camels sometime in the distant past.

Symptoms

The clinical spectrum of MERS-CoV infection ranges from no symptoms (asymptomatic) or mild respiratory symptoms to severe acute respiratory disease and death. A typical presentation of MERS-CoV disease is fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Pneumonia is a common finding, but not always present. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhoea, have also been reported. Severe illness can cause respiratory failure that requires mechanical ventilation and support in an intensive care unit.

The virus appears to cause more severe disease in older people, people with weakened immune systems, and those with chronic diseases such as renal disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and diabetes.

Source of the virus

MERS-CoV is a zoonotic virus, which means it is a virus that is transmitted between animals and people. Studies have shown that humans are infected through direct or indirect contact with infected dromedary camels. MERS-CoV has been identified in dromedaries in several countries in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

The origins of the virus are not fully understood but, according to the analysis of different virus genomes, it is believed that it may have originated in bats and was transmitted to camels sometime in the distant past.

Transmission

Non-human to human transmission: The route of transmission from animals to humans is not fully understood, but dromedary camels are the major reservoir host for MERS-CoV and an animal source of infection in humans. Strains of MERS-CoV that are identical to human strains have been isolated from dromedaries in several countries, including Egypt, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

Human-to-human transmission: The virus does not pass easily from person to person unless there is close contact, such as providing unprotected care to an infected patient. There have been clusters of cases in healthcare facilities, where human-to-human transmission appears to have occurred, especially when infection prevention and control practices are inadequate or inappropriate. Human to human transmission has been limited to date, and has been identified among family members, patients, and health care workers. While the majority of MERS cases have occurred in health care settings, thus far, no sustained human to human transmission has been documented anywhere in the world.

 The basic principles to reduce the general risk of transmission of acute respiratory infections by following the below mentioned measures:

• Avoiding close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections;
• Frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill people or their environment;
• Avoiding unprotected contact with farm or wild animals;
• People with symptoms of acute respiratory infection should practice cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, and wash hands);
• Within healthcare facilities, enhance standard infection prevention and control practices in hospitals, especially in emergency departments.

Prevention and treatment

No vaccine or specific treatment is currently available, however several MERS-CoV specific vaccines and treatments are in development. Treatment is supportive and based on the patient’s clinical condition.