|
1
|
Funk A, Florin TA, Kuppermann N, Finkelstein Y, Kazakoff A, Baldovsky M, Tancredi DJ, Breslin K, Bergmann KR, Gardiner M, Pruitt CM, Liu DR, Neuman MI, Wilkinson M, Ambroggio L, Pang XL, Cauchemez S, Malley R, Klassen TP, Lee BE, Payne DC, Mahmud SM, Freedman SB. Household Transmission Dynamics of Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-Infected Children: A Multinational, Controlled Case-Ascertained Prospective Study. Clin Infect Dis 2024:ciae069. [PMID: 38530249 DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciae069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is highly prevalent but its acute and chronic implications have been minimally described. METHODS In this controlled case-ascertained household transmission study, we recruited asymptomatic children <18 years with SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing performed at 12 tertiary care pediatric institutions in Canada and the United States. We attempted to recruit all test-positive children and 1 to 3 test-negative, site-matched controls. After 14 days' follow-up we assessed the clinical (ie, symptomatic) and combined (ie, test-positive, or symptomatic) secondary attack rates (SARs) among household contacts. Additionally, post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) was assessed in SARS-CoV-2-positive participating children after 90 days' follow-up. RESULTS A total of 111 test-positive and 256 SARS-CoV-2 test-negative asymptomatic children were enrolled between January 2021 and April 2022. After 14 days, excluding households with co-primary cases, the clinical SAR among household contacts of SARS-CoV-2-positive and -negative index children was 10.6% (19/179; 95% CI: 6.5%-16.1%) and 2.0% (13/663; 95% CI: 1.0%-3.3%), respectively (relative risk = 5.4; 95% CI: 2.7-10.7). In households with a SARS-CoV-2-positive index child, age <5 years, being pre-symptomatic (ie, developed symptoms after test), and testing positive during Omicron and Delta circulation periods (vs earlier) were associated with increased clinical and combined SARs among household contacts. Among 77 asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected children with 90-day follow-up, 6 (7.8%; 95% CI: 2.9%-16.2%) reported PCC. CONCLUSIONS Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected children, especially those <5 years, are important contributors to household transmission, with 1 in 10 exposed household contacts developing symptomatic illness within 14 days. Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected children may develop PCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Funk
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Todd A Florin
- Department of Pediatrics, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Division of Emergency Medicine, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Nathan Kuppermann
- Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Yaron Finkelstein
- Divisions of Emergency Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Pediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Alissa Kazakoff
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Michael Baldovsky
- Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Daniel J Tancredi
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Kristen Breslin
- Division of Emergency Medicine, Children's National Hospital, Washington, D.C., USA
| | - Kelly R Bergmann
- Department of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Children's Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Michael Gardiner
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, California, USA
- Division of Emergency Medicine, Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Christopher M Pruitt
- Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Deborah R Liu
- Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Keck USC School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Mark I Neuman
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Division of Emergency Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Matthew Wilkinson
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas at Austin, Dell Medical School, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Lilliam Ambroggio
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA
- Section of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA
| | - Xiao-Li Pang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Simon Cauchemez
- Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases Unit, Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR 2000, Paris, France
| | - Richard Malley
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Terry P Klassen
- Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
- Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Bonita E Lee
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Daniel C Payne
- National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Salaheddin M Mahmud
- Dept of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Stephen B Freedman
- Section of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| |
Collapse
|