A new study concerning 101 households in the US revealed that coronavirus proliferates quickly and faster within households and can infect both children and the elderly.

The preliminary findings of the research showed that 51 per cent of people living with Covid-19 positive people, also tested positive for the coronavirus.

The study was published in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Carlos G. Grijalva, study co-author and associate professor of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the US said: “We observed that, after a first household member became sick, several infections were rapidly detected in the household.”

“Those infections occurred fast, whether the first sick household member was a child or an adult,” Grijalva added.

The study further noted that at least 75 per cent of the secondary household infections occurred within five days of the first person in the household experiencing symptoms.

Notably, less than half of household members demonstrated Covid symptoms when they first tested positive. While many reported no symptoms throughout the seven-day daily follow-up period.

The researchers wrote: "In the absence of an efficient approach for identification of infections without regard to symptoms, these findings suggest that prompt adoption of isolation measures as soon as a person feels ill might reduce the probability of household transmission."

The researchers also cited limitations of the study stating that the initial household member who experienced symptoms was considered the index patient in the research. However, other household members may have been infected concurrently but developed symptoms at different times or remained asymptomatic.

Highlighting the importance of quarantine, the researchers stated that their findings stress the potential for transmission from symptomatic or asymptomatic contact among household members.

“Because prompt isolation of persons with Covid-19 can reduce household transmission, persons who suspect that they might have Covid-19 should isolate, stay at home, and use a separate bedroom and bathroom if feasible," the researchers suggested.

They added: “ Isolation should begin before seeking testing, and before test results become available because delaying isolation until confirmation of infection could miss an opportunity to reduce transmission to others.”

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