A meta-analysis on the role of children in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in household transmission clusters

Abstract

The role of children in the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains highly controversial. To address this issue, we performed a meta-analysis of the published literature on household SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters (n = 213 from 12 countries). Only 8 (3.8%) transmission clusters were identified as having a pediatric index case. Asymptomatic index cases were associated with a lower secondary attack in contacts than symptomatic index cases (estimate risk ratio [RR], 0.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.09-0.29). To determine the susceptibility of children to household infections the secondary attack rate in pediatric household contacts was assessed. The secondary attack rate in pediatric household contacts was lower than in adult household contacts (RR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.42-0.91). These data have important implications for the ongoing management of the COVID-19 pandemic, including potential vaccine prioritization strategies.

RAS ID

38759

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

2021

Volume

72

Issue

12

Funding Information

Australian Research Council National Health and Medical Research Council Sanofi Roche Novonordisk

PubMed ID

33283240

School

School of Science

Grant Number

ARC Number : DE180100512NHMRC Number : 1175509

Grant Link

http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DE180100512

Copyright

free_to_read

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Comments

Zhu, Y., Bloxham, C. J., Hulme, K. D., Sinclair, J. E., Tong, Z. W. M., Steele, L. E., ... Short, K. R. (2021). A meta-analysis on the role of children in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in household transmission clusters. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 72(12), e1146-e1153. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1825

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1093/cid/ciaa1825