Coronavirus: What are the chances of kids getting infected?

Islamabad (9th Mar, 2020): Recent study suggests there is no truth to the reports of children being less likely to be infected by the new Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 in comparison to adults.

Based on prior reports, children are less susceptible to be infected by COVID-19 as compared to adults, however, scientists argue that this is not true.

The latest case of coronavirus keeps spreading leading the global community to look at who is most likely to be infected. While, studies suggest that adults are more likely to be infected by it, researchers argue that the dynamics have changed.

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Reportedly, an international team of scientists from the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Peng Cheng Laboratory, both based in China, are looking into the potential targets most likely to be infected and has reached a conclusion that rejects prior studies. Although their research lacks the assurance of quality and accuracy assessment, the study-authors have allegedly made their findings available online.

By analyzing data collected from people in Shenzhen, experts have inferred that the SARS-CoV-2 children may be equally likely to be infected.

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Observing the data for almost 391 people infected by the COVID-19, and nearly 1,286 people who were not infected but had been in close contact with those infected, the research team aimed to identify if the latter group would test positive for the infection despite not showing any obvious symptoms for it.

They discovered that children under the age of ten and had been in contact with the infected people showed an almost 7.4 percent rate of infection. They argue that this percentage is very similar to the 7.9 percent risk in adults. However, they claimed that while children may be just as much at risk of getting infected, the chances of their developing the symptoms is lower than adults.

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[bs-quote quote=”Kids are just as likely to get infected (as grownups) and they’re not getting sick.

” style=”style-8″ align=”center” color=”#dd0000″ author_name=”Dr. Justin Lessler” author_job=”Study Co-Author “][/bs-quote]

The researchers further stated that people who had lived with individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 were also more likely to develop the infection compared to others who had simply been in contact. They argue that while based on their study group, “less than 1 in 6 contacts were infected” and that there existed “far less than one (0.4) onward transmission per primary case”.

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Moreover, they have stressed that the study has “numerous limitations” since the data was collected by different teams who had followed varied protocols. They also argue that since the definitions of what qualifies as SARS-CoV-2 infection has changed with time and greater understanding, since the outbreak in late 2019, thereby more evidence needs to be collected to ensure accuracy.