Ukrainian War Refugee Children With Particularly Severe Viral Infections: A Case Series Report

Abstract

The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine in 2022 led to a massive migration of refugees to Poland. Immigrant children, living in overcrowded humanitarian hubs, were exposed to multiple stressful factors likely affecting their immune systems. This case series study aimed to describe a particularly severe course of common viral infections, in Ukrainian refugee children. We present 2 case series of Ukrainian refugee children: 5 hospitalized due to either adenovirus (AdV) and 8 with rotavirus (RV) infection, admitted within 3 months in each case series, recruited retrospectively. Most patients lived in humanitarian hubs and were neglected on admission (dehydrated, with poor hygiene and anxious). All RV infection cases had symptoms of severe gastroenteritis requiring intravenous rehydration. Metabolic acidosis was present in 6 children, and hypoglycemia in 4 participants. None of them were vaccinated against RV. All children with AdV infection had prolonged fever, dyspnea requiring oxygen therapy and hyperinflammation. In 2 AdV infection cases with no clinical improvement and increasing inflammatory markers, intravenous immunoglobulins and glucocorticosteroids were used. The combination of stressful factors and living in overcrowded hubs during the high prevalence of viral infections led to a particularly severe course of viral infections in Ukrainian refugee children.