Teens’ coronavirus loads ‘the same as adults’

Children aged between 10 and 19 infected with coronavirus experience the same concentration of virus in their respiratory tracts as adults, says a study.

Children aged between 10 and 19 infected with coronavirus experience the same concentration of virus in their respiratory tracts as adults, says a study that casts doubt on the theory that children do not play a significant role in virus spread.

The study by South Korean researchers analysed tens of thousands of adults and children who had been exposed to COVID-19 and compared the viral loads of those who tested positive.

They found children under 10 had a smaller viral load but those older than 10 had a similar level of virus in their noses and throats as adults.

The level of viral load in a patient with COVID-19 has been understood to be related to the likelihood of spreading the disease, but the South Korean study cast doubt on this, finding that those who were admitted to ICU did not have a higher viral load in PCR test samples than those who did not need hospital treatment.

“SARS-CoV-2 viral load appears to be a poor predictor of disease outcome,” the study’s authors said. “Indeed, neither the initial nor the highest viral load of patients later admitted to the ICU was significantly higher than the specimens from 129 patients treated in a screening unit.”

Although children may have similar viral loads to adults, previous studies indicate they are less likely to show COVID-19 symptoms if infected.

A compilation of studies and articles published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Paediatrics this month showed most children under the age of 18 infected with COVID-19 tended to have mild disease and fully recovered from the virus within one or two weeks.

A serious condition dubbed multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children has been reported in Britain and the US in which parts of the body including the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, digestive system or brain, become inflamed. The condition can be fatal but is very rare.

The South Korean study adds to recent evidence that children are just as likely to transmit COVID-19 as adults, even though they generally experience much milder illness.

A study this month by researchers from Geneva University Hospitals also found children’s viral load was similar to that of adults.