key: cord-0954421-k7ajfm7f
authors: Madera, S.; Crawford, E.; Langelier, C.; Tran, N. K.; Thornborrow, E.; Miller, S.; DeRisi, J. L.
title: Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV2 viral loads in young children do not differ significantly from those in older children and adults
date: 2020-09-22
journal: nan
DOI: 10.1101/2020.09.17.20192245
sha: 55bb656befac21ad72459f4cf0f5c956e126d0ab
doc_id: 954421
cord_uid: k7ajfm7f

The role of children in the spread of the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus has become a matter of urgent debate as societies in the US and abroad consider how to safely reopen schools. Small studies have suggested higher viral loads in young children. Here we present a multicenter investigation on over five thousand SARS-CoV-2 cases confirmed by real-time reverse transcription (RT) PCR assay. Notably, we found no discernable difference in amount of viral nucleic acid among young children and adults.

laboratories employed real-time RT-PCR SARS-CoV2 assays, and record for each positive 45 sample the cycle threshold (Ct ) value. In general, primers from both the E and N genes are 46 employed, though in this analysis for simplicity we show only the E gene Ct values. For both labs, we report the results of all specimens tested from March-August 2020. The population is 48 predominantly comprised of out-patients representing both symptomatic clinical cases and 49 asymptomatic cases identified by contact tracing. 50 51 Among 5,544 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 spanning Laboratory A and B, 199 52 children aged less than five years, 665 youth aged five to seventeen, and 4680 adults aged 53 eighteen and older, were identified. In order to ascertain potential differences in viral load 54 carriage, Ct values were queried across age groups. Ct values were used to approximately reflect 55 the viral load (inversely related to Ct value). As depicted in Figure 1 , no significant differences 56 in Ct value were observed across the three groups. In particular, the children less than age 5 did 57 not display higher nasopharyngeal viral loads than older children or adults. 58 All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted medRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.

The copyright holder for this this version posted September 22, 2020. . https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.17.20192245 doi: medRxiv preprint

The data shown in the manuscript are available upon request from the corresponding author. 116

COVID-19 in 7780 pediatric patients: A systematic review. E Clinical