As schools reopen, shocking study says children may spread coronavirus more than adults

[Chris Smith]

• A new study says coronavirus spread might be fueled by infected children, who develop higher viral loads in the upper respiratory tract than adults.
• The study could not measure the actual infectivity of children, but researchers compared COVID-19 with other infectious diseases like the flu, where a higher viral load indicates higher infectivity.
• The new research could help public health officials and schools institute new screening measures to prevent outbreaks that do not include the assessment of symptoms or temperature checks, which are not reliable.

School reopenings during the novel coronavirus pandemic are failing spectacularly in some states, where children and teachers have been infected and thousands upon thousands have been forced to quarantine. Schools in Georgia and Mississippi made the news as examples of how not to bring back students to in-person classes, as thousands of children keep testing positive. Children might not experience severe COVID-19 cases as often as adults, but they can spread the illness to their families and run the risk of developing a severe COVID-related syndrome. A recent study showed that children under the age of five might have up to 100 times more virus in their upper respiratory tracts as adults. The research could not prove whether the kindergarteners were more infectious at the time. Now, a brand new study delivers similar results — it found that children can have higher viral loads than adults, and that can make them more contagious.

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As schools reopen, shocking study says children may spread coronavirus more than adults originally appeared on BGR.com on Thu, 20 Aug 2020 at 11:04:29 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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