School children do not play significant role in Covid transmission: Study

According to a recent study conducted by researchers in Finland, it is highly unlikely that school-going children suffering from Covid-19 will transmit the virus further or play a role in its spread, as per a Medical Life Sciences report.

The team carried out its case study in two different schools in Helsinki and found that exposure to a 12-year-old index case did not lead to further SARS-CoV-2 transmission. On the contrary, exposure to an index case which was a staff member, did further transmission.

The ratio of transmission in adult cases is higher than that of children.

Researchers believe that the study can change the mitigation measures taken to curb the spread of the virus.

“We recruited close school contacts and families of school cases, calculated attack rates (AR) on school level and families, and identified transmission chains,” writes the team of researchers, as cited in the Medical Life Sciences report.

Adult index case

The researchers said the transmission among children happens largely due to an adult index case.

“Here, we found that an adult index case could lead to further transmission among children. The age might have a role in susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection in children,” the team added.

Earlier reports suggested that children can act as a major source of transmission of the Covid-19.

Children below five years of age carry a large amount of coronavirus in their upper respiratory tract, according to a study reported in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

This is due to the fact that school closures early during the pandemic thwarted larger-scale investigation of schools as a source of community transmission, the JAMA Pediatrics report suggested.