Heavy Exposure of Children Aged 9-12 Years With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Did Not Lead to Infection

Abstract

The reason for the apparently lower infection rate of children with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) compared to adults is still unclear. Here, we report on 4 schoolchildren with heavy exposure to SARS-CoV-2 with no clinical signs of coronavirus disease 2019, repeated negative nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and no seroconversion.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; children; infectiousness; transmission.

Figure 1.

Clinical data and results of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of nasopharyngeal swabs and anti–SARS-CoV-2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) over time. PCR results of nasopharyngeal swabs for detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA are shown in gray boxes. ELISA values for serum immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G (both positive ≥1.1) against the recombinant S1 domain of structural protein of SARS-CoV-2 are indicated in white boxes. ¹During a scientific meeting in Munich, Germany. ²Returning from a scientific meeting in Southeast Asia, just before Lübeck Public Health Department informed M50 to be a coronavirus disease 2019 contact person during the Munich meeting [5]. The 4 siblings included 3 girls and 1 boy aged 12, 10, 9, and 9 years. Abbreviations: ATS, American Thoracic Society; F46, 46-year-old mother; IgA, immunoglobulin A; IgG, immunoglobulin G; M50, 50-year-old father; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; PGA, patient global assessment (0–10).