In children, both Coronavirus & Covid antibody can be found at same time, find study

New Delhi: Global race is on for developing vaccine against Covid-19 pandemic because it will spur formation of antibody in human body, thus killing/eliminating the virus. Wait is on for the vaccine.

Meanwhile, a recent study has revealed that in children, the Coronavirus and its antibody can continue to co-exist. Moreover, the children will still have the potential to transmit novel coronavirus even if they have a measurable immune response.

The study has been published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

“With most viruses, when you start to detect antibodies, you won’t detect the virus anymore. But with COVID-19, we’re seeing both,” said Burak Bahar, M.D., lead author of the study and director of Laboratory Informatics at Children’s National.”This means children still have the potential to transmit the virus even if antibodies are detected,” added Bahar.

This study used a retrospective analysis of 6,369 children tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and 215 patients who underwent antibody testing at Children’s National between March 13, 2020, and June 21, 2020.

Out of the 215 patients, 33 had co-testing for both the virus and antibodies during their disease course. Nine of the 33 showed the presence of antibodies in their blood while also later testing positive for the virus.

Also of note, researchers found patients 6 through 15 years old took a longer time to clear the virus (median of 32 days) compared to patients 16 through 22 years old (median of 18 days). Females in the 6-15 age group also took longer to clear the virus than males (median of 44 days for females compared to a median of 25.5 days for males).

Although there is emerging data regarding this timing in adults with COVID-19, there is far less data when it comes to the pediatric population. The findings being gathered by Children’s National researchers and scientists around the world are critical to helping understand the unique impact on children and their role in viral transmission.

“The takeaway here is that we can’t let our guard down just because a child has antibodies or is no longer showing symptoms. The continued role of good hygiene and social distancing remains critical,” said Dr Bahar.