Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the secondary attack rate (SAR) in children and adolescents, contacts of essential activities workers who were infected by SARS-CoV-2; and to describe associated clinical and epidemiological data.
Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years of age, that were household contacts of parents and other relatives who were infected by SARS-CoV-2 in the city of Goiânia, Central Brazil, from March to October 2020. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected from all participants. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were collected and tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and SAR were analyzed using Poisson regression.
Results: A total of 267 children and adolescents were investigated. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by the real-time RT-PCR test and/or the presence of COVID-19 associated symptoms (anosmia/ageusia and flu syndrome) was 25.1% (95.0% Confidence Interval [95.0% CI] = 20.3-30.6). More than half (55.1%) of the participants had sygns and symptoms. The most prevalent signs and symptoms in positive individuals were nasal congestion (62.7%), headache (55.2%), cough (50.8%), myalgia (47.8%), runny nose (47.8%), and anosmia (47.8%). The Poisson model showed that the following signs or symptoms were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection: fever, nasal congestion, decreased appetite, nausea, anosmia, and ageusia. Families that had more than one infected adult, in addition to the index case, presented greater transmissibility to children and adolescents.
Conclusions: Our results contribute to the hypothesis that children and adolescents are not important sources of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the home environment during a period of social distancing and school closure; even though they are susceptible to infection in the household (around ¼ of our study population).
Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; adolescents; children; epidemiology; household infections.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Epidemiology, children, adolescents, household infections., 【초록키워드】 Brazil, social distancing, cross-sectional, SARS-COV-2 infection, Infection, Symptom, cough, headache, nasal congestion, RT-PCR, Symptoms, secondary attack rate, Anosmia, activity, Prevalence, family, infections, Ageusia, oropharyngeal swab, Fever, age, reverse transcription, epidemiological data, SARS-CoV-2 RNA, household contact, flu, SAR, Hypothesis, Contact, index case, myalgia, confidence, Factor, Participants, study population, Clinical data, syndrome, nausea, participant, Poisson regression, Anosmia/ageusia, parent, real-time RT-PCR test, transmission of SARS-CoV-2, greater transmissibility, susceptible, prevalent, polymerase chain, tested, analyzed, were infected, collected, evaluate, addition, investigated, conducted, contribute, interval, COVID-19 associated symptom, decreased appetite, had more, Poisson model, positive individual, 【제목키워드】 clinical, household transmission, epidemiological, secondary,