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Many respiratory viral infections such as influenza and measles result in severe acute respiratory symptoms and epidemics. In the spring of 2003, an epidemic of coronavirus pneumonia spread from Guangzhou to Hong Kong and subsequently to the rest of the world. The WHO coined the acronym SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and subsequently the causative virus as SARS‐CoV. In the summer of 2012, epidemic of pneumonia occurred again in Saudi Arabia which was subsequently found to be caused by another novel coronavirus. WHO coined the term MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) to denote the Middle East origin of the novel virus (MERS‐CoV). In the winter of 2019, another outbreak of pneumonia occurred in Wuhan, China which rapidly spread globally. Yet another novel coronavirus was identified as the culprit and has been named SARS‐CoV‐2 due to its similarities with SARS‐CoV, and the disease as coronavirus disease‐2019. This overview aims to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of these three major episodes of coronavirus outbreak, and conclude that they are essentially the same viral respiratory syndromes caused by similar strains of coronavirus with different names. Coronaviruses have caused major epidemics and outbreaks worldwide in the last two decades. From an epidemiological perspective, they are remarkably similar in the mode of spread by droplets. Special focus is placed on the pediatric aspects, which carry less morbidity and mortality in all three entities.

Physiologic striae atrophicae of adolescence occur mainly in healthy nonobese adolescents in association with the adolescent growth spurt. The striae typically present as erythematous, purple, or violaceous, horizontal linear plaques in the lumbar area. Occurrence of striae elsewhere on the body exclusively is rare. A PubMed search of the English literature using the key terms "physiological striae atrophicae of adolescence" OR "physiological striae atrophicae of puberty" AND "thigh" did not yield any prior report. We report a teenager with physiologic striae atrophicae of adolescence with striae restricted to the thighs.

We describe a four-generation Chinese family that included five members who had an isolated bilateral lop ear anomaly. The presentation suggested a dominant mode of inheritance. The absence of male-to-male transmission does not exclude an X-linked dominant mode of inheritance. Since the phenotypic anomaly of the male proband was no more severe than the affected female members, an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance is most likely.

A 2.5-year-old Filipino girl with a progressively growing, black, subungual lesion is described. A biopsy was performed because of the progressive increase in size of the lesion and its periungual involvement. Histologic examination revealed a junctional nevus. To our knowledge, this represents the first report of subungual nevus in a Filipino child. The need for histologic diagnosis prior to definitive surgery cannot be overemphasized.

Scrotal hair in infancy is extremely rare. We report identical twins who had scrotal hair at 1 month of age. The condition is likely owing to hypersensitivity of the scrotal hair follicles to transiently elevated androgen levels in the first few months of life. Our patients are the youngest reported in the literature. Most cases are sporadic. The present cases suggest that the condition can be familial.

We describe a Chinese family among whom five members in three generations had a flat umbilicus with vertical and male to male transmission indicative of autosomal dominant inheritance. Except the proband, who also had Tetralogy of Fallot, other affected members had a flat umbilicus as an isolated anomaly. Autosomal dominant transmission of isolated flat umbilicus has not been reported previously.

An infant with benign neonatal hemangiomatosis is described. Examination for internal hemangiomas was negative. The patient had complete resolution of the lesions by 2 years of age.

A Chinese family is reported in which microcephaly and congenital lymphedema have been observed in at least 4 generations. This combination of symptoms can be presumed to represent a rare but well defined hereditary syndrome transmitted by an autosomal dominant gene.

A Chinese infant boy had extensive Mongolian spots in the occipital, gluteal, sacrococcygeal, and lumbar areas. The occurrence of a Mongolian spot in the scalp area has not been previously reported. Awareness of such an occurrence is important so that a false accusation of child abuse is not made.

A Chinese baby girl was born after an uncomplicated pregnancy and a normal spontaneous vaginal delivery to a gravida 2, para 1, 32-year-old mother at 37 weeks' gestation. Neither parent had a history of alcohol or drug ingestion. There was no history of consanguinity. The Apgar scores were 7 at 1 min and 9 at 5 min. Her birth weight was 5 lb 14 oz and her length was 46 cm. At birth, she was noted to have grayish areas on the face and lower back. The infant was seen at 3 months of age because of persistent regurgitations. On average, she regurgitated 7-8 times a day. Physical examination showed that the infant was not in distress. Her weight was 6 lb 4 oz and length 47 cm. She had a Mongolian spot measuring 0.8 x 1.2 cm in the left temporal area (Fig. 1) and another Mongolian spot measuring 4 cm in diameter in the lumbar area. The Mongolian spots were grayish in color and the pigmentation was uniform in intensity. The rest of the examination was essentially normal. The infant was diagnosed to have Mongolian spots and gastroesophageal reflux. The latter was treated with postural therapy, thickened feedings, and metoclopramide 0.35 mg q.i.d. The infant was seen again at 4 months of age for a reassessment. There was no noticeable change in shape, size, or color of the Mongolian spots.

We describe a girl with Prader-Willi syndrome and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. She had a deletion at 15q11-13. The deletion may have made the child susceptible to renal disease.

Devriendt and Fryns suggest the possibility that multicystic dysplasia of the kidney (MCDK) and uretero-pelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) may have a common genetic cause transmitted as an autosomal dominant disorder with variable expression, and that a candidate gene is localized on chromosome arm 6p. Izquierdo et al. reported that 4 of 5 families with autosomal dominant hereditary hydronephrosis demonstrated linkage to the major histocompatibility locus at 6p21. Fryns et al. provide further support for their hypothesis by reporting a fetus with bilateral MCDK and an associated de novo balanced translocation (6;19) (p23.1; q13.4). We agree that a genetically determined disturbance in blood supply to the ureteric bud might cause MCDK and UPJO. Devriendt and Fryns further suggest that vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR) might also be caused by permutations of the candidate gene on 6p. Contralateral VUR has been reported in 11 to 28% of patients with MCDK. In patients with unilateral renal agenesis (URA), VUR has been noted in 15 to 30% of patients. VUR has been noted in up to 40% of patients with UPJO. The frequent occurrence of VUR in URA, MCDK, and UPJO supports the suggestion by Devriendt and Fryns that this association might be linked to differentmore » mutations in a single gene. 10 refs.« less

We present a male infant with r(9) and del(9p) mosaicism and chromosome constitution of 46,XY,r(9) (p22;q34)/46,XY,del(9) (p22). This patient also had gastroesophageal reflux with persistent regurgitation and resultant failure to thrive. The association of this syndrome with gastroesophageal reflux is emphasized.

We observed three Chinese families in which congenital isolated funnel chest was segregating. This report confirms that funnel chest (pectus excavatum) can be transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait.

We describe two patients with aplasia of the pectoralis major muscle and renal anomalies. We think such an association, which has been reported previously, represents a new congenital malformation, probably not a syndrome but an acro-pectoro-renal field defect. We recommend renal ultrasonography be done on all children with aplasia of the pectoralis major.