How the start of the school year will affect the spread of coronavirus
'31.08.2020'
Source: Air force
According to a study from South Korea, the coronavirus can remain in the nose of children for up to three weeks. with the BBC.
Previous research has shown that the vast majority of children infected with this virus have only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.
However, this new study sheds light on the still unresolved question of how likely it is that children will transmit the virus to others.
This issue becomes especially relevant at the beginning of autumn, when children return to school.
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President of Britain's Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, Professor Russell Winer explains that there are three separate but related questions about children and Covid-19:
- While we know for a fact that children can catch the virus, Professor Wiener says that blood test data for antibodies suggests they may be less susceptible to infection than adults - especially children under 12.
- Also, scientists are quite confident that even if children do catch the virus, they get sick more easily than adults, and many do not show any symptoms at all. This is confirmed by a British study published on 28 August.
- The third question is the one we know the least about, and that is what the South Korean study is trying to answer.
What does the new study say?
South Korea actively tested, traced contacts and isolated patients - even those who had no symptoms. Once the virus was detected, patients were tested repeatedly until the smear was negative.
A study involving 91 children showed that even in children with mild or no symptoms, the virus was detected in smears even after three weeks.
Therefore, its authors came to the conclusion that if a virus is found in the noses of children, then they can transmit it.
Thus, the study provides us with new information about children as carriers of the virus and their potential to spread it.
However, like other studies, this has blind spots.
The fact that the virus is found in a child's nose does not conclusively confirm that children can transmit it in the same way as adults.
Robert DeBiasi, head of childhood diseases at the National Children's Hospital in Washington, says that if children carry the virus, it would be "illogical to think that children play no role in the transmission of infection."
At the same time, Calum Sample, professor of child health at the University of Liverpool, says: "The presence of virus genetic material in respiratory swabs does not equal transmission, especially in people who do not have important symptoms such as coughing and sneezing."
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So what are the conclusions?
Logic dictates that both children and adults have people with mild or no symptoms, who do not cough or shed the virus into the air, and are likely to be less contagious. And children, as a rule, generally tolerate the disease much easier.
At the same time, a significant number of asymptomatic people can significantly affect the infection rate.
However, as Professor Wiener notes, school closings can have many negative consequences, as they carry risks for the development, education and mental health of children.
Therefore, an accurate answer to the question of whether children are capable of spreading the virus will be vital to combat future outbreaks.
Dr. DeBiasi believes that while the vast majority of infected children are mildly or asymptomatic, they can still play an important role in the spread of infection in society.
