SARS-CoV-2 viral clearance and viral load kinetics in young children (1–6 years) compared to adults: Results of a longitudinal study in Germany
Open Access
- 14 November 2022
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Frontiers Media SA in Frontiers in Pediatrics
Abstract
Objective: To investigate SARS-COV-2 viral clearance and viral load kinetics in the course of infection in children aged 1-6 years in comparison with adults. Methods: Prospective cohort study of infected daycare children and staff and their close contacts in households from 11/2020 to 06/2021. Adult participants took upper respiratory tract specimen from themselves and/or their children, for PCR-tests on SARS-CoV-2. Data on symptoms and exposure were used to determine the date of probable infection for each participant. We determined (a) viral clearance, and (b) viral load dynamics over time. Samples were taken from day 4-6 to day 16-18 after diagnosis of the index case in the respective daycare group (5 samples per participant). Results: We included 40 children (1-6 years) and 67 adults (18-77 years) with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Samples were available at a mean of 4.3 points of time per participant. Among the participants, the 12-day study period fell in different periods within the individual course of infection, ranging from day 5-17 to day 15-26 after assumed infection. Children reached viral clearance at a median of 20 days after assumed infection (95% CI 17-21 days, Kaplan-Meier Analysis), adults at 23 days (95% CI 20-25 days, difference not significant). In both children and adults, viral load decreased over time with trajectories of the mean viral load not being statistically different between groups. Kaplan-Meier calculations show that from day 15 (95% CI 13-15), 50% of all participants had a viral load <1 million copies/ml, i.e. were no longer infectious or negative. Conclusion: Children aged 1-6 and adults infected with SARS-CoV-2 (wild type and Alpha variant) did not differ significantly in terms of viral load kinetics and time needed to clear the virus. Therefore, containment measures are important also in the daycare settings as long as the pandemic continues.This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Kinetics of Viral Clearance and Antibody Production Across Age Groups in Children with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 InfectionThe Journal of Pediatrics, 2020
- Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Viral Load in the Upper Respiratory Tract of Children and Adults With Early Acute Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2020
- Temporal profile and determinants of viral shedding and of viral clearance confirmation on nasopharyngeal swabs from SARS-CoV-2-positive subjects: a population-based prospective cohort study in Reggio Emilia, Italy.BMJ Open, 2020
- Impact of COVID -19 on children: special focus on the psychosocial aspectMinerva Pediatrics, 2020
- Factors associated with the duration of viral shedding in adults with COVID-19 outside of Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort studyInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2020
- A Trial of Lopinavir–Ritonavir in Adults Hospitalized with Severe Covid-19The New England Journal of Medicine, 2020
- Virological assessment of hospitalized patients with COVID-2019Nature, 2020
- Viral dynamics in mild and severe cases of COVID-19The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2020
- Modeling Within-Host Dynamics of Influenza Virus Infection Including Immune ResponsesPLoS Computational Biology, 2012
- Development of a Dose-Response Model for SARS CoronavirusRisk Analysis, 2010