A study carried out in two hospitals in Massachusetts (USA) indicates that children can be “hidden carriers” of Sars-CoV-2 and play a greater role than previously thought in the spread of this virus, according to an article published this Thursday the scientific journal Journal of Pediatrics.
In total, 192 children with an average age of 10 years and suspected Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus infection were analyzed. Nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal and blood samples were taken and their viral load was measured.
Of that total, 49 children (26 percent) were diagnosed with acute Sars-CoV-2 infection. And of those, 25 (51 percent) had fever as the predominant symptom.
Nasopharyngeal viral load was found to was higher in children in the first two days of symptoms and significantly higher than in hospitalized adults with severe forms of severe disease.
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“I was surprised by the high levels of virus that we found in children of all ages, especially in the first two days of infection,” said Lael Yonker, director of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and lead author of the study, adding that “I didn’t expect the viral load to be so high.”
“One thinks of the hospital and all the precautions taken to treat seriously ill adults, but the viral loads of these hospitalized patients are significantly lower than those of a ‘healthy child’ walking around with a high burden of SARS-CoV-2”, He stated.
The risk of contagion is greater the higher the presence of the virus and even though children may show the typical symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, nasal discharge and cough, these often coincide with common childhood diseases such as influenza and cold.
Yonker explained that this confuses an accurate diagnosis of covid-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
In addition to the level of viral load, the researchers, which included experts from the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, examined viral receptor expression and antibody response in healthy children, children with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, and more. reduced children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome.
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The results and conclusions obtained from these investigations have implications regarding the reopening of schools, child care centers and other places where children congregate and there is close interaction with teachers and school personnel.
“Children are not immune to this infection and their symptoms do not correlate with exposure and infection”said Alessio Fasano, director of the Research Center for Immunology and Muconasal Biology at MGH.
“During this covid-19 pandemic we have examined mainly patients with symptoms and therefore we have come to the wrong conclusion that the vast majority of those infected are adults,” he added.
“But our results show that children are not protected against the virus,” he added. “We should not rule out children as potential spreaders of the virus.”
Although children with covid-19 are not as likely to become as seriously ill as adults, as carriers with no or few symptoms who attend school they can spread the infection and carry the virus into their homes.
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The article pointed out that this is a cause of concern particularly for families in the socio-economic groups hit hardest by the pandemic and households in which older adults, who are more vulnerable, live with them in the same house.
The study found that 51 percent of children with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection come from low-income communities, compared to 2 percent in higher income communities.
“The study provides much-needed data for authorities to make the best decisions regarding schools, nurseries, and other institutions that serve children,” said Fasano, who warned that children “are a possible source of spread of the virus and this must be taken into account in the reopening phases of schools ”.
HEALTH UNIT
* With information from EFE
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