key: cord-0691376-3jasb8d6
authors: Koutsaftiki, Chryssie; Papatheodoropoulou, Alexia; Papaioannou, Georgia; Korovessi, Paraskevi; Mammas, Ioannis N.; Theodoridou, Maria; Spandidos, Demetrios A.
title: COVID-19 threat and frontline paediatric care professionals
date: 2020-10-30
journal: Exp Ther Med
DOI: 10.3892/etm.2020.9421
sha: bd89c5227fed80c5d93d7f8607121cdd8d5b2171
doc_id: 691376
cord_uid: 3jasb8d6

nan

'How prepared are paediatric health professionals for a future pandemic?' The answer by Professor Alan Michael Weindling, Professor of Perinatal Medicine at the University of Liverpool (UK), to this question by the Paediatric Virology Study Group (PVSG), almost two years ago, in the context of the '4th workshop on Paediatric Virology' revealed a difficult reality: 'Those who work in developing countries may be, but most paediatric health professionals probably are not. Consider how long it took clinicians to appreciate the nature of the AIDS and therefore its best treatment and management' (1) . Professor Weindling also supported the commitment to 'lifelong learning', as well as the necessity of increased preparedness of the paediatric care professionals based on the ongoing, at that time, health crises of Ebola and Zika viruses (1, 2) .

Since 2007, the PVSG has focused on continuing medical education of the frontline paediatric professionals (3). The necessity for their increased preparedness against common viral infections, as well as emerging epidemic viral threats has been analysed in detail (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) , while in 2018, the '4th workshop on Paediatric Virology' was dedicated to the 100 years of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic on the Greek Aegean Sea island of Skyros, which devastated its population in less than 30 days (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) . Despite all the discussions, recommendations and encouragement on the necessity to promote infection control measurements, to increase medical preparedness against a future pandemic threat and to intensify research efforts on novel immunization strategies and targeted anti-viral agents, the COVID-19 pandemic threat found the frontline paediatric care professionals unprepared, in fact. They were requested to fight on the frontline, in parallel to their colleagues in adult medicine, without proper scenario-based, undergraduate or postgraduate medical education, no successful targeted therapeutic agents and no effective management and prevention strategies against the new virus, SARS-CoV-2; for this reason, the message by the PVSG at the beginning of the current COVID-19 pandemic threat was referred to the humanitarian and solidarity role of the front line health medical and nursing professionals as well as their pragmatic needs (Table I) .

To date, in Greece, a country, which until March 30th, 2020 had 1,212 cases and 46 reported deaths with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (19) , the aim to increase the preparedness of the frontline paediatric care professionals in a short period of time has focused on advancing infection control measurements in primary, secondary and tertiary paediatric care. Paediatric care professionals in the COVID-19 reference centres, as well as in general paediatric departments and neonatal units all over the country have attended scenario-based educational interventions. These evolving educational interventions have been organized by the local Hospital Committees for Infectious Diseases in collaboration with the COVID-19 reference centres in Greece and the National Public Health The fact that these 'last-minute' changes are in the correct direction is really encouraging. The future will show -for one more time -if these changes will promote further changes in an organized, evidence-based, effective manner or not. As the clinical course of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in the majority of paediatric population is asymptomatic or mild, paediatric preparedness and current therapeutic protocols for children seem that will not be eventually needed (20) (21) (22) . If this estimation is proven in the ensuing future, for paediatric health care professionals, the COVID-19 threat will remain only an excellent virtual preparedness exercise, formulating major incident plans for potential paediatric victims. This exercise, though, should re-evaluate the priorities in medical education and clinical practice, especially in a country, like Greece, which still encounters the consequences of the 10-year financial crisis of 2010. In the light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic threat, we would like to express our support to the health personnel, medical and nursing, which has been called in every hospital, medical and health unit, worldwide, to offer its services with self-sacrifice in the fight against SARS-CoV-2. Health professionals on the frontline have been requested to manage, counsel, reassure, inform and guide their patients having as a principal aim the effective protection of public health. In anticipation of the required new therapeutic and preventative tools against this new virus, their key contribution, sense of responsibility and dedication to humanity have been exemplary, indeed, and should be highlighted as an outstanding example of the implementation of the value of humanitarianism and solidarity into clinical practice.

The future of medical education in neonatology, paediatrics and paediatric virology: An interview with Professor Alan Michael Weindling, Professor of Perinatal Medicine at the University of Liverpool

The future of paediatric education

The development of the Paediatric Virology Study Group: Ten years in the making

The challenge of modern biowarfare: ED preparedness for paediatric victims of the Ebola virus

Current views and advances on Paediatric Virology: An update for paediatric trainees

It's never just a virus -experiences from the frontline

Zika virus in pregnancy and infancy -What do the paediatricians need to know?

Paediatric Virology: A rapidly increasing educational challenge

The 'Spanish' flu outbreak at the islands of Skyros, Euboea and Andros 100 years ago

Overview of influenza vaccination in children

Antiviral drugs in the clinical management of children with influenza

Epidemiology of influenza types and subtypes in childhood

Radiology issues of influenza in children

Participation of paediatric health professionals into the vaccination programme against seasonal influenza

Prevention and management of influenza in childhood: The effect of probiotics

A paediatric influenza update 100 years after the Skyros island Spanish flu outbreak

The 1918 Spanish flu outbreak that devastated a Greek island underlines past lessons that must never be forgotten

National Public Health Organization: Antiviral medications and therapies of patients infected with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2 pathophysiology and its clinical implications: An integrative overview of the pharmacotherapeutic management of COVID-19

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial

This article is published in the context of the foundation of the Institute of Paediatric Virology (IPV; https:// paediatricvirology.org) based on the island of Euboea (Greece), under the auspices of the World Academy of Sciences (WAS) and the support of the Department of Clinical Virology of