The school setting is an important site of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, new data suggest. MedTwitter
The researchers examined data from surveillance and extensive screening during a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Mede, Italy, between Jan. 7 and March 10, 2021. They identified 460 positive individuals and 976 SARS-CoV-2 exposure events. When they removed cases and case contacts that were associated with unclear infection episodes, 297 SARS-CoV-2 infections and 584 exposure events remained in their analysis.
Among students, however, there was a higher proportion of individuals who caused onward transmission than in the overall population . The average number of secondary cases caused by a positive student was 1.03. Using an age-specific matrix, the researchers calculated the average number of infections caused by a positive case in each age group. The highest transmission intensity was from young children to adults and between children of similar age,"possibly reflecting contacts between siblings or schoolmates," they wrote.
"This implies that uncontrolled transmission in the student population could disrupt the regular conduct of teaching activities and lead to a harsh burden for contact-tracing operations at the same time," wrote the investigators."In addition, the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the scholastic population may entail a high risk of importation of the infection into a large set of households from where it can reach age segments at higher risk of infection and disease.
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