Children do infect adults

[cantory]

In a paper, published in the British journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the researchers said: 'Notably, the rate of infection in children younger than 10 years (7.4 per cent) was similar to the population average (6.6 per cent).
There was no significant association between the probability of infection and age of the index case.'

This meant that children were as likely as adults to both catch the virus and to spread it.

The researchers added: 'Analyses of how cases are detected, and use of data on individuals exposed but not infected, indicate that infection rates in young children are not lower than the population average (even if rates of clinical disease are).'

The government briefing just dealt with this and said that the evidence is emerging and not clear either way yet

Can you link to the study please?

I understand it will need further research. But this paper is the best evidence we currently have and contradicts what many on MN have been insisting.

I haven’t read the study but your quote from it doesn’t back up your title/premise - rate of infection in children isn’t the same thing as children infecting adults ....I’m not saying you are wrong but can you link to the study?

I had no idea that people thought otherwise!

This is the study and it looked at 391 cases.

www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.03.20028423v1.full.pdf

I understand there needs to be more research. But what this suggests is that children do get the virus at the same rate as adults and spread it at the same rate, but have no or extremely mild symptoms usually.

Certainly on the lungs thread a lot of infected parents say they were really ill while their kids had a sore throat for a few days, or a slight fever for an evening. So very mild symptoms.

But this is significant in terms of schools fully reopening and children catching and spreading covid 19 to parents and other relatives. Particularly concerning for parents who are vulnerable so have underlying health problems, but who are not shielded.

A German study has found the same. Although yes, it’s not been peer reviewed yet.

Alongside this assertion there are studies like this, which leads to the conclusion that Roosterpie mentioned - as yet this is far from clear www.google.co.uk/amp/s/news.sky.com/story/amp/coronavirus-no-child-known-to-have-passed-covid-19-to-adults-global-study-finds-11981111

@Smellbellina people have been saying for weeks that kids don't spread it when arguing that schools need to reopen.

Have they???
Kids don't seem to be affected very much by it, but it's bizarre to think that they don't spread it.

It also says 9% of cases take 14 days or more to develop symptoms.

@CodenameVillanelle I know, but there are a number of people on MN who keep saying kids do not spread this virus. They refer to the case of 1 Austrian boy who does not seem to have passed the virus onto anyone in spite of meeting lots of people. But a bit bizarre to state as fact that kids do not spread the virus based on 1 boy.

@EarlGreywithLemon Do you know what German study? Interested, especially as two separate studies saying that makes it far more likely to be true.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/29/no-case-child-passing-coronavirus-adult-exists-evidence-review/

WHO, Switzerland and various other countries all seem to agree that children don't pass it on

So I've read that under 10s seem unable to pass it on although this it to be confirmed and the link you've shared actually says low transmission rate from children however doesn't actually specify an age rang for this. From what I can see but I've not read it fully so happy to be corrected

*age range! Sorry

Do people really think that children don't spread it ?

Of course they catch it and spread it but thankfully for most, are unaffected by the virus.

@helpfulperson You do know this virus is new and that the evidence is constantly evolving? So yes at the time of that WHO review that looked to be the case. There is now the study I linked to and apparently a German one which does show evidence that children get the virus at the same rate as adults and pass it on. But their symptoms are often incredibly mild.

Things are changing all the time. Two days ago for the first time I heard about covid toes.

I haven’t been able to find the study itself, but it was reported in the Guardian and Bloomberg:

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/coronavirus-scientists-caution-against-reopening-schools

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-30/children-with-coronavirus-may-be-just-as-infectious-as-adults

I've also seen posters adamant children are unable to spread the virus. Usually said in an argument for schools reopening

Why does anyone think children can't spread it ? Bizarre.

@Klouise777 It says a low transmission rates in general with less than 1 in 6 contacts infected, but this may be due to imposed isolation and surveillance.
China did a very severe lock down and forcibly isolated anyone with symptoms, so its transmission rate will be lower.
It would be more useful to look at the German research in terms of transmission rate.
But the initial idea that children did not get this virus and did not transmit appears to be wrong. They catch the virus at the same rate as adults, they just tend to have it more mildly.

@EarlGreywithLemon Thanks.
I do think that two separate studies are saying that children get the virus as often as adults and transmit it at same rate as adults, shows it is probably true.
And yes the idea that children could not transmit it always seemed bizarre to me.
So this does need to be considered in terms of schools both for school staff and parents and carers.

As I understand it Switzerland proved that children couldn't catch it even though some had died of it. Seems all news is fake news now.

Didn’t Switzerland say they found that children don’t transmit the virus? That’s why their school children under 12 have gone back and why they’re allowing under 10s to hug grandparents again.