Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Updated : July 31, 2020 12:27 PM IST
कोरोना मामले में 12वें स्थान पर दिल्ली, जानें अन्य राज्यों में COVID-19 के मामले
Children under the age of five have between 10 to 100 times greater levels of genetic material of the coronavirus in their noses compared to older children and adults. This implies that young children might be important drivers of COVID-19 transmission within communities. This study, mentioned in JAMA Pediatrics, was carried out between March 23 and April 27. Researchers carried out nasal swab tests on 145 Chicago patients with mild to moderate illness within one week of symptom onset. According to researchers, behavioral habits of young children and close quarters in school and daycare settings raise concern for SARS-CoV-2 amplification in this population as public health restrictions are eased.
The research comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump is pushing hard for schools and daycare to reopen in order to kickstart the economy. The patients were divided in three groups: 46 children younger than five-years-old, 51 children aged five to 17 years, and 48 adults aged 18 to 65 years. The team observed "a 10-fold to 100-fold greater amount of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract of young children."
The authors added that a recent lab study had demonstrated that the more viral genetic material was present, the more infectious virus could be grown. It has also previously been shown that children with high viral loads of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are more likely to spread the disease. The new findings are at odds with the current view among health authorities that young children -- who, it has been well established, are far less likely to fall seriously ill from the virus -- don't spread it much to others either. However, there has been fairly little research on the topic so far.
Scientists are still trying to understand about the exact nature of the COVID-19 virus. Children, so far, are less affected by this virus. It usually causes mild infection in children. Very little is known about how kids may transmit the virus too. A study in South Korea found that children between the ages of 10 to 19 transmitted COVID-19 within households as much as adults. But researchers said that children under nine transmitted the virus at lower rates. Another study in June, which studied the epidemiological data from China and five other countries found that people under 20 are about half as likely to get infected as older people, and only 21 per cent of people between 10 and 19 years old who become infected show symptoms.
A study from Iceland in April found that children under 10 were less likely to test positive for the virus than those over 10. Another small study published in July, based on data from hospitals in the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Qingdao, found that, among 68 pediatric COVID-19 patients, 96 per cent were infected by another adult in their household, and there was no evidence that the children transmitted the virus to others.
(With inputs from Agencies)
