Children are unlikely to have been the primary source of household SARS-CoV-2 infections

Yanshan Zhu; Conor J Bloxham; Katina D Hulme; Jane E Sinclair; Zhen Wei Marcus Tong; Lauren E Steele; Ellesandra C Noye; Jiahai Lu; Keng Yih Chew; Janessa Pickering; Charles Gilks; Asha C Bowen; Kirsty R Short

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that asymptomatic individuals play an important role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the community 68-70 ; However, such studies do not negate the results of the present study, as both children AND adults can present with an asymptomatic infection. This is perhaps best demonstrated by the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship 66 . Here, 634 individuals were infected. Of these infected individuals, only six were aged 0-19 years, 152 were aged 20-59 years and 476 were 60 years and older. Despite the near absence of children on the ship, 328 of the 634 infected individuals were asymptomatic. These data clearly indicate that asymptomatic infections are not limited to the paediatric population. Therefore, perhaps one of the most effective public health intervention strategies would be to identify and isolate asymptomatically infected adults, as it is these individuals who have numerous contacts outside the home and may be contributing to viral spread.