A new paper resulting from the Corona-Kinderstudie has just been published.
The paper, entitled “Transmission of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 in Households with Children, Southwest Germany, May–August 2020” and published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, reports on investigations of intrahousehold transmission in families with children using seroepidemiological methods.
The Corona-Kinderstudie is a cooperation between four University Hospitals in Baden-Württemberg; Freiburg’s involvement in the study is led by Professor Philipp Henneke and Dr. Roland Elling. For more information, please visit the study website (www.corona-kinderstudie.de, in German) or email the study team (corona.kinderstudie@uniklinik-freiburg.de).
Abstract: Resolving the role of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission in households with members from different generations is crucial for containing the current pandemic. We conducted a large-scale, multicenter, cross-sectional seroepidemiologic household transmission study in southwest Germany during May 11–August 1, 2020. We included 1,625 study participants from 405 households that each had ≥1 child and 1 reverse transcription PCR–confirmed SARS-CoV-2–infected index case-patient. The overall secondary attack rate was 31.6% and was significantly higher in exposed adults (37.5%) than in children (24.6%–29.2%; p = <0.015); the rate was also significantly higher when the index case-patient was >60 years of age (72.9%; p = 0.039). Other risk factors for infectiousness of the index case-patient were SARS-CoV-2–seropositivity (odds ratio [OR] 27.8, 95% CI 8.26–93.5), fever (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.14–3.31), and cough (OR 2.07, 95% CI 1.21–3.53). Secondary infections in household contacts generate a substantial disease burden.
Stich M, Elling R, Renk H, Janda A, Garbade SF, Müller B, et al. Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in households with children, southwest Germany, May–August 2020. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021 Dec. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2712.210978