Do kids transmit covid?

[MadameGazelleIsMyHomegirl]

Does anyone know of cases where kids have transmitted covid to adults or other kids? With schools reopening next month I’d like to know if anyone thinks their DC have passed the virus on to them, or if their DC caught it at school / nursery. Just interested if anecdotal experience supports what the govt are saying about kids not transmitting...

Canada seems to be having a problem
globalnews.ca/news/6936803/outbreak-coronavirus-daycares-montreal/

Children are transmitters of COVID- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/coronavirus-scientists-caution-against-reopening-schools?CMP=aff1432&utmmcontent=The+Independent&awc=57951589407817764e58f4e629a1ec704ddeb03a427c241

www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-revealed-least-26-teachers-have-died-covid-19
Uk teacher and education professionals deaths.

It was recently reported that a 6 week old baby died, positive. The very nature of a virus leads it to mutate. I don't pretend to know much about it but it's not the first time I've heard of a child under 10 dying. Kawasaki keeps cropping up. I don't think it can be ruled out that not only do children get this, but it can also go badly for them.

@LilyPond2 thanks for sharing that. Useful and interesting to see the truth of the story

That’s interesting chasingrainbows do you think children have a lower viral load? I agree kids cough and sneeze in everyone’s face and they are rubbish at handwashing so you’d imagine they’d spread it like crazy. Interesting that you and your colleagues haven’t caught it. How does this differ to colleagues in adult wards? Have any of your patients infected their parents?

We've all had it in our family (DS (8), DS (6), DH and myself. Tested and confirmed).

I am very careful who I see (won't see vulnerable mother for example), not because I may or may not have it (as I've already had it, it's unlikely I have it again), but because I might be carrying it on my clothes/hair/etc... from someone or somewhere else.

If I can carry coronavirus on my clothes, bag, hair etc.. why can't children?

Kids going to school means they will be bringing the virus with them from elsewhere (home, the local shop, etc..) on their clothes etc.. and passing it to the teachers and other pupils.

I've just found out about somebody with a case of covid locally - reception age child was ill with it, passed it on to the mum who has been very ill (hospitalised, confirmed covid), one more child has now come down with it but dad and eldest child are (so far) symptom free.

Will be interesting to see a detailed breakdown of the figures 2-4 weeks after there is a general return to schools... I don't think the spike in cases will be rapid but I'm sure there will be one.

If they were sure the kids wouldnt transmit it qll the kids would have gone back.
Anywaykids can catch from teacher so teacher germs on kids clothes

At the briefing on Wednesday Jenny Harries said that children can have/carry and shed the virus at most no more than adults. Which struck me as the opposite of the message the press conferences usually say.

NY Times article: New Studies Add to Evidence that Children May Transmit the Coronavirus
“ In one study, published last week in the journal Science, a team analyzed data from two cities in China — Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, and Shanghai — and found that children were about a third as susceptible to coronavirus infection as adults were. But when schools were open, they found, children had about three times as many contacts as adults, and three times as many opportunities to become infected, essentially evening out their risk.”

“The second study, by a group of German researchers, was more straightforward. The team tested children and adults and found that children who test positive harbor just as much virus as adults do — sometimes more — and so, presumably, are just as infectious.”

My 11yr old came home from school with a very nasty virus week or so before lockdown. High temp, cough, headaches and loss of taste when he finally got his appetite back, so probably covid. Evidence suggests children can have high viral load with very mild symptoms. Not always, I was close to dialling 999

I caught it from my 2 year old, he had it a few weeks before lockdown. He wasn’t too ill with it. Slight temp for three days and an unusual dry cough that didn’t end up with him on antibiotics (also unusual). Eldest had no symptoms and partner very mild. I remember remarking about how unusual it was for my son to have a non productive cough and to not need his inhalers when coughing. It was just very odd. Didn’t consider covid until I got ill.

Yes. The government’s own scientific adviser has admitted this.

I am fascinated by this issue. There were confirmed cases in my DC’s school for weeks before lockdown. However, there are very few reports amongst the parents of their children becoming ill - my youngest DC attended a birthday party a week before school ended and almost every child in his year attended, all fit and well. Either, they weren’t spreading it or they were and were all asymptomatic!

If the Government believes that children can’t transmit the virus then why are they making all these changes to the education setting?

Why are class sizes being reduced? Why are the children not allowed to play with each other? Why are ‘class bubbles’ being introduced? Why a phased return in Primary schools?

If children can’t pass it on to other children or the teacher then why all the fuss?

Until the Government can explain why Reception and Year 1 students have been selected to go back, and have a genuine, valid reason, then I won’t trust this decision for a minute. I think we all know why these years have been selected and I doubt it’s got much to do with the Government caring about their education or wellbeing....

Schools have been shut for weeks now.
If children spread it we're surely not in a position to know that for sure?

this is an issue certainly.
there is not much data on children because
a) they have mostly been off school/childcare
b) they tend to have less symptoms and therefore are not tested

there is data though that shows that children do transmit it, but due to social distancing at a lower rate.

@siriusmew do you have the link for that paper? One of the things being flung at teachers is that kids can't spread it. Which the Cambridge virologist on the bbc said on Monday was rubbish.

Children have a slightly different immune system, I'm not clear of all the ins and outs but it slowly develops over childhood to that of an adult.

That's why it's actually good to get lots of normal viruses (and be filthy) as it lowers the later chances of getting autoimmune issues.

For example, adenoids are a part of babies's immune system that slowly shrink away and are useless by adulthood.

So it's possible they handle the disease differently and it's passed on differently; also though, children all differ a little anyway in their immune responses, just as adults do.

R0 did go up after Denmark "went back to a school" but of course we can't attribute it all to actual schools.

The ‘children don’t spread Coronavirus’ news story at the end of last month, was largely due to a review article published on a paediatric blog. I had a scan through, so pretty much all anecdotal evidence. Blogs are not know to be reliable. You need to be looking at peer-reviewed, published research in medical/scientific journals if you want ‘proper’ valid Science.

I'm sure the scientific adviser said in the briefing last night that children are as likely to spread it as adults, they just seem to have fewer symptoms/be less affected. I may have misheard but was surprised as felt that was contradictory to what has been said been previously.

Blogs are not know to be reliable. You need to be looking at peer-reviewed, published research in medical/scientific journals if you want ‘proper’ valid Science.

Good news, the authors have now published it: adc.bmj.com/content/early/2020/05/05/archdischild-2020-319474

Re the sad deaths of Teachers, it is possible that some Teachers will have had a higher viral load due to repeated exposure to the disease, but it is equally as likely that those teachers contracted the virus from adults.

To give some context, it appears that there are half a million teachers in the UK, so roughly one in 14 of the population. The crude death rate amongst teachers is therefore lower than other sectors (although admittedly not age adjusted).

It’s obvious that more research is needed, but the numbers suggest to me that it is unlikely that children are superspreaders.

That’s the same blog article, published as a review article and internally peer-reviewed. So doesn’t count I’m afraid.