Abstract:

With the continuous evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), many variants have emerged. A new variant, Omicron, has become the dominant Covid strain globally. The emergence of Omicron not only led to a significant increase in the number of cases in children, but also brought some special symptoms to pediatric patients. For example, Omicron mainly affects the upper respiratory tract, with more acute laryngitis and less pneumonia. These clinical features have biological basis, such as high variation of viral spike protein, increased affinity with host receptors, transition of invasion pathway of host cells, and weakened syncytial formation ability, which lead to significant changes in infectivity, transmissibility, clinical phenotype, pathogenicity and immune evasion capabilities of Omicron. And this brings about the difference in prevention, treatment and prognosis. This article reviews the clinical manifestations and biological basis of Omicron infection in children.

Key words: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, corona virus disease 2019, Omicron, spike protein, variation, child