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Study: Small children have more SARS-CoV-2 in the smear than adults
Posted by
Otto Knotzer on August 04, 2020 - 6:00am
/Kunstzeug, stock.adobe.com
Chicago - Children rarely develop COVID-19 when infected with SARS-CoV-2. In the case of infection, however, the concentration of the viral RNA in the smears could be as high as in adults. In a recent study in children under 5 years of age, JAMA Pediatrics (2020; DOI: 10.1001 / jamapediatrics.2020.3651) measured even higher concentrations.
The proportion of children in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 has so far been classified as low due to the low number of illnesses. The closure of schools and kindergartens is therefore controversial. However, experience with influenza viruses shows that young children can be an important vector for respiratory diseases.
However, there has been little research into the possible spread of SARS-CoV-2 by children. An internationally recognized exception is an examination by the Berlin Charité, which came to the conclusion in a study of 3,303 SARS-CoV-2-infected (all age groups) that preschool children (0 to 6 years) had an infection in the smear 29% had virus concentrations which, according to the team led by Christian Drosten from the Berlin Charité, could be sufficient to spread the virus further. In the age groups 0 to 19 years and over 20 years, 37% and 51% of those tested were above the “critical” limit.
The study, which has so far only been published on a preprint platform, was controversial in Germany. Now a US team comes to comparable results.
Infectiologist Taylor Heald-Sargent of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago and co-workers have studied the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in nasopharyngeal swabs that occurred in people throughout the city between March 23 and April 27 of all ages.
The virus concentration was estimated on the basis of the cycles which were necessary in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) until detection. A low CT value ("cycle threshold") indicates a high concentration of the virus genes in the smear. The infectiologists limited the study to people who had mild or moderate symptoms.
