Pediatric population was generally less affected clinically by SARS-CoV-2 infection. Few pediatric cases of COVID-19 have been reported compared to those reported in infected adults. However, a rapid increase in the hospitalization rate of SARS-CoV-2 infected pediatric patients was observed during Omicron variant dominated COVID-19 outbreak. In this study, we analyzed the B.1.1.529 (Omicron) genome sequences collected from pediatric patients by whole viral genome amplicon sequencing using Illumina next generation sequencing platform, followed by phylogenetic analysis. The demographic, epidemiologic and clinical data of these pediatric patients are also reported in this study. Fever, cough, running nose, sore throat and vomiting were the more commonly reported symptoms in children infected by Omicron variant. A novel frameshift mutation was found in the ORF1b region (NSP12) of the genome of Omicron variant. Seven mutations were identified in the target regions of the WHO listed SARS-CoV-2 primers and probes. On protein level, eighty-three amino acid substitutions and fifteen amino acid deletions were identified. Our results indicate that asymptomatic infection and transmission among children infected by Omicron subvariants BA.2.2 and BA.2.10.1 are not common. Omicron may have different pathogenesis in pediatric population.

中文翻译：

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SARS-CoV-2 Omicron 变体感染儿科患者的临床特征及全病毒基因组测序分析。

儿科人群在临床上受 SARS-CoV-2 感染的影响通常较小。与受感染的成人报告的病例相比，报告的 COVID-19 儿科病例很少。然而，在以 Omicron 变体为主的 COVID-19 爆发期间，观察到感染 SARS-CoV-2 的儿科患者的住院率迅速增加。在这项研究中，我们使用 Illumina 下一代测序平台分析了通过全病毒基因组扩增子测序从儿科患者收集的 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) 基因组序列，然后进行了系统发育分析。本研究还报告了这些儿科患者的人口统计学、流行病学和临床数据。发烧、咳嗽、流鼻涕、喉咙痛和呕吐是感染 Omicron 变体的儿童中更常见的症状。在 Omicron 变体基因组的 ORF1b 区域 (NSP12) 中发现了一个新的移码突变。在 WHO 列出的 SARS-CoV-2 引物和探针的目标区域发现了 7 个突变。在蛋白质水平上，鉴定了 83 个氨基酸取代和 15 个氨基酸缺失。我们的结果表明，感染 Omicron 亚变体 BA.2.2 和 BA.2.10.1 的儿童之间的无症状感染和传播并不常见。Omicron 在儿科人群中可能有不同的发病机制。我们的结果表明，感染 Omicron 亚变体 BA.2.2 和 BA.2.10.1 的儿童之间的无症状感染和传播并不常见。Omicron 在儿科人群中可能有不同的发病机制。我们的结果表明，感染 Omicron 亚变体 BA.2.2 和 BA.2.10.1 的儿童之间的无症状感染和传播并不常见。Omicron 在儿科人群中可能有不同的发病机制。