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SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Children in the Biospecimens from Respiratory Virus-Exposed Kids (BRAVE Kids) Study.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Hurst, JH; Heston, SM; Chambers, HN; Cunningham, HM; Price, MJ; Suarez, L; Crew, CG; Bose, S; Aquino, JN; Carr, ST; Griffin, SM; Smith, SH ...
Published in: medRxiv
September 1, 2020

BACKGROUND: Children with SARS-CoV-2 infection typically have mild symptoms that do not require medical attention, leaving a gap in our understanding of the spectrum of illnesses that the virus causes in children. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of children and adolescents (<21 years of age) with a SARS-CoV-2-infected close contact. We collected nasopharyngeal or nasal swabs at enrollment and tested for SARS-CoV-2 using a real-time PCR assay. RESULTS: Of 382 children, 289 (76%) were SARS-CoV-2-infected. SARS-CoV-2-infected children were more likely to be Hispanic (p<0.0001), less likely to have a history of asthma (p=0.009), and more likely to have an infected sibling contact (p=0.0007) than uninfected children. Children ages 6-13 years were frequently asymptomatic (38%) and had respiratory symptoms less often than younger children (30% vs. 49%; p=0.008) or adolescents (30% vs. 59%; p<0.0001). Compared to children ages 6-13 years, adolescents more frequently reported influenza-like (61% vs. 39%; p=0.002), gastrointestinal (26% vs. 9%; p=0.003), and sensory symptoms (43% vs. 9%; p<0.0001), and had more prolonged illnesses [median (IQR) duration: 7 (4, 12) vs. 4 (3, 8) days; p=0.004]. Despite the age-related variability in symptoms, we found no differences in nasopharyngeal viral load by age or between symptomatic and asymptomatic children. CONCLUSIONS: Hispanic ethnicity and an infected sibling close contact are associated with increased SARS-CoV-2 infection risk among children, while a history of asthma is associated with decreased risk. Age-related differences in the clinical manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection must be considered when evaluating children for COVID-19 and in developing screening strategies for schools and childcare settings.

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Published In

medRxiv

DOI

Publication Date

September 1, 2020

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Microbiology
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
  • 11 Medical and Health Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences
 

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Hurst, J. H., Heston, S. M., Chambers, H. N., Cunningham, H. M., Price, M. J., Suarez, L., … Kelly, M. S. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Children in the Biospecimens from Respiratory Virus-Exposed Kids (BRAVE Kids) Study. MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.18.20166835
Hurst, Jillian H., Sarah M. Heston, Hailey N. Chambers, Hannah M. Cunningham, Meghan J. Price, Liliana Suarez, Carter G. Crew, et al. “SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Children in the Biospecimens from Respiratory Virus-Exposed Kids (BRAVE Kids) Study.MedRxiv, September 1, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.18.20166835.
Hurst JH, Heston SM, Chambers HN, Cunningham HM, Price MJ, Suarez L, et al. SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Children in the Biospecimens from Respiratory Virus-Exposed Kids (BRAVE Kids) Study. medRxiv. 2020 Sep 1;
Hurst, Jillian H., et al. “SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Children in the Biospecimens from Respiratory Virus-Exposed Kids (BRAVE Kids) Study.MedRxiv, Sept. 2020. Pubmed, doi:10.1101/2020.08.18.20166835.
Hurst JH, Heston SM, Chambers HN, Cunningham HM, Price MJ, Suarez L, Crew CG, Bose S, Aquino JN, Carr ST, Griffin SM, Smith SH, Jenkins K, Pfeiffer TS, Rodriguez J, DeMarco CT, De Naeyer NA, Gurley TC, Louzao R, Cunningham CK, Steinbach WJ, Denny TN, Lugo DJ, Moody MA, Permar SR, Rotta AT, Turner NA, Walter EB, Woods CW, Kelly MS. SARS-CoV-2 Infections Among Children in the Biospecimens from Respiratory Virus-Exposed Kids (BRAVE Kids) Study. medRxiv. 2020 Sep 1;

Published In

medRxiv

DOI

Publication Date

September 1, 2020

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Microbiology
  • 3202 Clinical sciences
  • 11 Medical and Health Sciences
  • 06 Biological Sciences