Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have conducted extensive pediatric research on COVID-19 and reported no specific protection against coronavirus infection in children and young adults. Also, doctors warned about the special danger to others, which is posed by minors, whose disease is mild or asymptomatic. This was reported in The Journal of Pediatrics.
In the work of scientists, coronavirus clinical manifestations, infectivity and immune response were studied in minors from 0 to 22 years old (the age of majority in Massachusetts is 21 years). Among the 192 children and adolescents studied, 49 people tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and another 18 were diagnosed with childhood multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). This disease is considered a consequence of COVID-19. In healthy study participants and patients with MIS-C, the characteristics of immunity were also studied, the presence and activity of antibodies was determined.
In infected young patients, the viral load (the content of coronavirus particles in the airways) was significantly higher than in hospitalized adults from the intensive care unit.
- The viral load in minors was even higher than in adults
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“I was surprised by the high concentration of the virus found in the respiratory tract of children and minors, especially in the first two days of infection. I didn't expect the viral load to be that high. Hospitals take all possible precautions when treating critically ill adults, but meanwhile, the concentration of the virus is lower, "- said the lead author of the study, director of the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Massachusetts Hospital Lael Yonker.
As noted by Dr. Jonker, with a high viral load, the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to others among those infected also increases. The situation is aggravated by the fact that pediatricians are often misled by the symptoms of COVID-19, which are also inherent in colds and flu: fever, runny nose and cough. This makes it difficult to establish an accurate diagnosis.
According to co-author of the work, director of the Research Center for Immunology and Mucosal Biology at Massachusetts Hospital, professor of pediatrics at the Harvard School of Medicine Alessio Fasano, children, adolescents and young people do not have any special protection against coronavirus.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus of research is on patients with severe symptoms of the disease, which has led to the erroneous conclusion that the vast majority of those infected are adults. However, judging by our results, minors have no protection against this virus. We must take into account that they can act as distributors, ”says Professor Alessio Fasano.
A study of patients with MIS-C showed a strong immune system response to the pathogen. Complications from an accelerated immune response can cause serious heart problems, including acute heart failure.
“These serious complications are consequences of the immune response to COVID-19, and the number of such patients is growing. Apparently, the immune response as a result of the transferred COVID-19 in minors, as in adults with similar extremely serious systemic complications, most often targets the heart, ”concluded Professor Fasano.
For pediatricians, understanding the immune processes in their patients is critical to developing the next steps in treatment and prevention strategies. They also urge to take into account the data obtained before opening kindergartens, schools and other institutions for minors.
Like many previous researchers, American pediatricians note the particular danger of the spread of infection by children and young people, since COVID-19 is often asymptomatic in these populations. Earlier, in a conversation with RT, the chief physician of the Moscow Children's City Clinical Hospital named after V.I. BEHIND. Bashlyaeva, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Ismail Osmanov.