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TUESDAY, Sept. 8, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Pediatric patients have a prolonged period of viral shedding after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), according to a study published online Sept. 3 in The Journal of Pediatrics<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Burak Bahar, M.D., from the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and colleagues conducted a retrospective study of children tested for SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunoglobulin G antibodies at a pediatric hospital between March 13 and June 21, 2020. Data were included for 6,369 patients who underwent PCR testing and 215 who underwent antibody testing.<\/p>\n
The researchers found a median duration of 19.5 days of viral shedding (RT-PCR positivity) and a median duration of 25 days from RT-PCR positivity to negativity. Compared with patients aged 16 through 22 years, those aged 6 through 15 years demonstrated a longer time of RT-PCR positivity to negativity (median, 32 versus 18 days). The median time from RT-PCR positivity to seropositivity was 18 days, while the median time was 36 days to reach adequate levels of neutralizing antibodies.<\/p>\n
“With most viruses, when you start to detect antibodies, you won’t detect the virus anymore. But with COVID-19, we’re seeing both,” Bahar said in a statement. “This means children still have the potential to transmit the virus even if antibodies are detected.”<\/p>\n