School in Italy: a safe place for children and adolescents

Italian Journal of Pediatrics

Fabrizio Pontarelli¹  Alberto Villani²  Massimiliano Raponi³  Teresa Mazzone⁴  Giovanni Corsello⁵  Stefania Ranno⁶  Luana Coltella⁶  Carlo Concato⁶  Stefano Chiavelli⁶  Livia Piccioni⁶  Giulia Linardos⁶  Carlo Federico Perno⁶  Federico Bianchi di Castelbianco⁷  Rossella Sonnino⁸  Paola Maria Murru⁹ 

[1] Emergency Department General Pediatrics, Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy;Emergency Department General Pediatrics, Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy;Italian Pediatric Society, Rome, Italy;Health Management Department, Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy;Italian Pediatric Society, Rome, Italy;ASL RM 1, Rome, Italy;Italian Pediatric Society, Rome, Italy;Pediatric Department and Intensive Neonatal Unit, Palermo University, Palermo, Italy;Microbiology Unit, Bambino Gesù Children Hospital, IRCCS, Rome, Italy;Ortofonologia Institute, Rome, Italy;Regina Elena School, Rome, Italy;SS Maria Addolorata School, Rome, Italy;

关键词: SARS-CoV-2;    School;    COVID;    Prevention measures;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13052-021-00978-w

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDuring the first SARS-CoV-2 pandemic phase, the sudden closure of schools was one of the main measures to minimize the spread of the virus. In the second phase, several safety procedures were implemented to avoid school closure.To evaluate if the school is a safe place, students and staff of two school complexes of Rome were monitored to evaluate the efficacy of prevention measures inside the school buildings.MethodsOral secretions specimens were collected from 1262 subjects for a total of 3431 samples, collected over a 3 months period.Detection of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was performed by real-time PCR. Target genes were represented by E gene, RdRP/S gene and N gene.ResultsAmong the 3431 samples analyzed, just 16 sample resulted as positive or low positive: 1 sample in the first month, 12 samples in the second month and 3 in the third month.In each period of evaluation, all positive children attended different classes.ConclusionsEven if the school has the potential for spreading viruses, our preliminary results show the efficacy of the implementations undertaken in this setting to minimize virus diffusion.Our evidence suggests that school does not act as an amplifier for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and can be really considered a safe place for students.

【 授权许可】

CC BY