Study: Children can carry coronavirus for weeks even if they don't show any symptoms

Researchers from South Korea have recently discovered that the coronavirus may linger in the throats and noses of children for weeks without the children showing any symptoms. As per the study, the majority of the children that were infected with the virus may not be diagnosed if the testing strategy which focuses on testing patients showing symptoms is followed.

Mass testing is only way to curb spread of virus

This recent study by researchers come at a time when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has come under fire for changing its testing guidelines as it pertains to people who do not show symptoms. As per the CDC’s updated guidelines, people who are not showing symptoms need not be tested even if they have come in close contact with people who have tested positive for COVID-19.

This new research shows that governments when using contact tracing in an effort to identify possible infected must cast a wide net and test even those that do not immediately show symptoms. The study proves that mass testing is crucial in curbing the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The study was published in the journal of JAJA Pediatrics on August 28 that out of the 91 children in the study, 22 per cent remained asymptomatic, as in showed no symptoms while 20 per cent developed symptoms later and initially looked and felt fine. This suggests that children can carry the coronavirus while still being able to transmit the disease. This research will provide crucial insight to public health officials in their efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the future, especially in schools.

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The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 24 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 800,000.

As per the John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the United States has reported a total of at least 5.9 million positive virus cases and has a death toll of 181,77. The US currently has the highest number of reported cases in the world, making it the epicentre of the deadly virus.

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