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According to a new study in South Korea, children and teens ages 10 to 19 are more likely to spread the coronavirus among family members than adults and children under the age of 10. The results were published online as an early publication article in the journal. Emerging infectious diseases and could be updated before the official launch in October.
Researchers from the CDC and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed reports of nearly 60,000 people who had contact with 5,706 coronavirus patients between January and March. They found that 12% of household contacts had COVID-19, and approximately 2% of non-household contacts contracted the virus.
“The use of personal protection measures and social distancing reduces the probability of transmission,” the authors wrote.
In households with coronavirus patients between the ages of 10-19, almost 19% of contacts tested positive for COVID-19. This was the highest transmission rate among the age groups. Children under the age of 10 had the lowest rate at 5.3%.
Based on the timing of South Korea’s closure measures, the high percentage among teens and tweens, but not among younger children, may explain how transmission occurred during school closings, the authors wrote. In China, for example, a follow-up study of contacts showed that school closings and social distancing significantly reduced the COVID-19 rate among school-age children. They added that additional studies, including antibody tests, would better explain the public health benefit of school closings in preventing the spread of the virus.
“Although the detection rate of contacts for preschool-age children was lower, young children may show higher attack rates when school closes, which contributes to community transmission of COVID-19,” they wrote.
Greater detection among household contacts rather than out-of-home contacts could also reflect how the virus moved among family members when they were at home during shelter-in-place orders.
“Given the high infection rate within families, personal protection measures should be used at home to reduce the risk of transmission,” they wrote.
If someone in the home has tested positive for the coronavirus, social distancing and personal hygiene are the “most viable options” to prevent the spread of the virus, the authors said. Future research may explain whether wearing face masks at home could help, especially if some family members have underlying conditions or are at high risk of contracting COVID-19.
SOURCE:
CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases, “Tracing Contacts During the Coronavirus Disease Outbreak, South Korea, 2020”.
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