Study suggests children may spread coronavirus as easily as infected adults

Children and teenagers can transmit the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 as easily as infected adults, a study by Swiss researchers published on June 30 claimed. The researchers said that though children are underrepresented in COVID-19 case numbers and do not seem to be major drivers of transmission, the findings showed that transmission from them is plausible.

“Despite the high proportion of mild or asymptomatic infections, they should be considered as transmitters unless proven otherwise,” said the researchers from the Geneva University Hospitals and the University of Geneva.

The laboratory of the Geneva University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva used cell culture to systematically assess cultivable SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract (URT) of 23 children with COVID-19. The researchers isolated the culture-competent virus in vitro from 12 of 23 coronavirus-infected children.

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The SARS-CoV-2 viral load and shedding patterns of the culture-competent virus in 12 symptomatic children resembled those in adults, making the transmission plausible. The study said that the relatively low frequency of infected children, even in severely affected areas, could lead to the lower transmission in this population. 

“Large serologic investigations and systematic surveillance for acute respiratory diseases and asymptomatic presentations are needed to assess the role of children in this pandemic,” the authors added.

Small sample size

Citing the small sample size, the researchers acknowledged that the findings probably underestimate the true rate of infectious virus presence in symptomatic children and said that they cannot comment whether the data reflect the rates of infectious virus shedding in the community. 

“Because of the limited leftover volume of the specimens, we were unable to further investigate the quantity of infectious viral particles,” they wrote. 

The study has been authored by Arnaud G. L’Huillier, Giulia Torriani, Fiona Pigny, Laurent Kaiser, and Isabella Eckerle, affiliated to Geneva University Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva.

(image credit: AP)

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