TY - JOUR
T1 - Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection Among Children in Summer Schools Applying Stringent Control Measures in Barcelona, Spain
AU - Jordan, Iolanda
AU - de Sevilla, Mariona Fernandez
AU - Fumado, Victoria
AU - Bassat, Quique
AU - Bonet-Carne, Elisenda
AU - Fortuny, Claudia
AU - Garcia-Miquel, Aleix
AU - Jou, Cristina
AU - Adroher, Cristina
AU - Casas, María Melé
AU - Girona-Alarcon, Mònica
AU - Garcia, María Hernández
AU - Tomas, Gemma Pons
AU - Ajanovic, Sara
AU - Arias, Sara
AU - Balanza, Núria
AU - Baro, Bárbara
AU - Millat-Martinez, Pere
AU - Varo, Rosauro
AU - Alonso, Sergio
AU - Álvarez-Lacalle, Enric
AU - López, Daniel
AU - Claverol, Joana
AU - Cubells, Marta
AU - Brotons, Pedro
AU - Codina, Anna
AU - Cuadras, Daniel
AU - Bruijning-Verhagen, Patricia
AU - Faust, Saul
AU - Munro, Alasdair
AU - Muñoz-Almagro, Carmen
AU - Català, Martí
AU - Prats, Clara
AU - Garcia-Garcia, Juan José
AU - Gratacós, Eduard
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/1/1
Y1 - 2022/1/1
N2 - BACKGROUND: Understanding the role of children in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission is critical to guide decision-making for schools in the pandemic. We aimed to describe the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among children and adult staff in summer schools.METHODS: During July 2020, we prospectively recruited children and adult staff attending summer schools in Barcelona who had SARS-CoV-2 infection. Primary SARS-CoV-2 infections were identified through (1) a surveillance program in 22 summer schools of 1905 participants, involving weekly saliva sampling for SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) during 2-5 weeks; and (2) cases identified through the Catalonian Health Surveillance System of children diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection by nasopharyngeal RT-PCR. All centers followed prevention protocols: bubble groups, handwashing, face masks, and conducting activities mostly outdoors. Contacts of a primary case within the same bubble were evaluated by nasopharyngeal RT-PCR. Secondary attack rates and the effective reproduction number in summer schools (Re*) were calculated.RESULTS: Among the >2000 repeatedly screened participants, 30 children and 9 adults were identified as primary cases. A total of 253 close contacts of these primary cases were studied (median, 9 [interquartile range, 5-10] for each primary case), among which 12 new cases (4.7%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The Re* was 0.3, whereas the contemporary rate in the general population from the same areas in Barcelona was 1.9.CONCLUSIONS: The transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection among children attending school-like facilities under strict prevention measures was lower than that reported for the general population. This suggests that under preventive measures schools are unlikely amplifiers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, supporting current recommendations for school opening.
AB - BACKGROUND: Understanding the role of children in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission is critical to guide decision-making for schools in the pandemic. We aimed to describe the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among children and adult staff in summer schools.METHODS: During July 2020, we prospectively recruited children and adult staff attending summer schools in Barcelona who had SARS-CoV-2 infection. Primary SARS-CoV-2 infections were identified through (1) a surveillance program in 22 summer schools of 1905 participants, involving weekly saliva sampling for SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) during 2-5 weeks; and (2) cases identified through the Catalonian Health Surveillance System of children diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection by nasopharyngeal RT-PCR. All centers followed prevention protocols: bubble groups, handwashing, face masks, and conducting activities mostly outdoors. Contacts of a primary case within the same bubble were evaluated by nasopharyngeal RT-PCR. Secondary attack rates and the effective reproduction number in summer schools (Re*) were calculated.RESULTS: Among the >2000 repeatedly screened participants, 30 children and 9 adults were identified as primary cases. A total of 253 close contacts of these primary cases were studied (median, 9 [interquartile range, 5-10] for each primary case), among which 12 new cases (4.7%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The Re* was 0.3, whereas the contemporary rate in the general population from the same areas in Barcelona was 1.9.CONCLUSIONS: The transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection among children attending school-like facilities under strict prevention measures was lower than that reported for the general population. This suggests that under preventive measures schools are unlikely amplifiers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, supporting current recommendations for school opening.
KW - COVID-19
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - children
KW - transmission
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123649902&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/cid/ciab227
DO - 10.1093/cid/ciab227
M3 - Article
C2 - 33709138
SN - 1058-4838
VL - 74
SP - 66
EP - 73
JO - Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
JF - Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
IS - 1
ER -