Searching for COVID-19 Antibodies in Czech Children—A Needle in the Haystack

Frontiers in Pediatrics

article

Marketa Bloomfield¹  Iva Pospisilova¹  Tamara Cabelova¹  Anna Sediva²  Marketa Ibrahimova⁴  Klara Borecka³  Martin Magner¹ 

[1] Department of Pediatrics, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Thomayer's Hospital;Department of Immunology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Motol University Hospital;Department of Clinical Chemistry, Thomayer's Hospital;Laboratory of Immunology, Thomayer's Hospital;Department of Pediatrics and Inherited Metabolic Disorders, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and General University Hospital

关键词: SARS-CoV-2;    COVID-19;    antibodies;    seroprevalence;    pediatric;    children;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fped.2020.597736

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

During the COVID-19 pandemics of 2020, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), both adults and children were shown to mount a specific antibody response to the virus. As infected children often exhibit mild symptoms or even remain asymptomatic, they are likely to be under tested for the direct presence of the virus. Mapping the SARS-CoV-2 antibodies frequency informs more accurately on the disease prevalence and helps guide the protective and therapeutic strategies. To date, only few seroprevalence studies included children. In the Czech Republic, in April 2020, the overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was estimated not to exceed 1.3%. In July and August, 2020, we screened 200 children (0–18 years of age), who attended the pediatric department of a large hospital in Prague for various COVID-19-unrelated reasons, for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Zero seropositive subjects were found. Therefore, we hereby report a low (<0.5%) seroprevalence amongst children in Prague, as of August, 2020.

【 授权许可】

CC BY