The role of children in Covid-19 transmission chain remains a mystery

Since the first days of the coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnish) epidemic, it has been clear that children are less likely to experience Covid-19 symptoms compared to adults.

When we look at the first 425 coronavirus patients studied in Wuhan, China, in December and January, no cases were reported among children under age 15., according to a study published by The New England Journal of Medicine.

The coronavirus epidemic is not known to have been studied to determine how effectively the virus is transmitted in children. 

No one infected

According to a study, named Cluster of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the French Alps 2020, at the end of January, one person infected eleven other people, including a nine-year-old schoolboy.

The researchers closely tracked the contacts of the infected people and tested them if they had developed symptoms.

The boy had gone to school after showed Covid-19 symptom and was estimated to have had more than sixty high-risk close contacts. Fifty weeks were followed by virus tests. No one was found to have a coronavirus, but many had other respiratory infections.

Also, no virus was found in the boy’s two siblings who were on the same Alpine vacation.

The researchers conclude that “because children are less likely to become infected and symptoms are milder, they may play a less important role in the spread of the new virus”.

In USA 1.7% children

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published on 6 April, entitled Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children, says, "Although most cases reported among children to date have not been severe, clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for Covid-19 infection in children and monitor for progression of the illness, particularly among infants and children with underlying conditions."

Among the 149,082 confirmed USA cases of Covid-19 reported as of April 2, for which the patient's age was known, 2,572 -or 1.7% of the cases- were in children under 18 years old.

THL Conducts a research

Jussi Sane, a leading expert from the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), said, "The role of children in the infection chain has not become determined evidence."

THL conducts research on infections at home, which should also shed more light on the role of children in the epidemic.