translated from Spanish: Discover that children may have covid-19 antibodies

A team of scientists has discovered that children may have the coronavirus and antibodies against covid-19 simultaneously in their body, according to the study, which is collected this Friday in The Journal of Pediatrics.
The research, conducted at the National Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., in the U.S., retrospectively evaluated 6,369 children who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 and 215 patients who had antibody tests between March and June 2020. In addition, 33 minors were tested both the virus and the antibodies, and it turned out that 9 showed the presence of antibodies in the blood and subsequently tested positive for the new coronavirus.
“With most viruses, when antibodies start to be detected, the virus is no longer detected. But with covid-19, we’re seeing both […]. This means that children still have the potential to transmit the virus even if antibodies are detected,” dr. Burak Bahar, lead author of the study, explained through a statement.
However, specialists believe that research should move to a second phase to see if the virus that develops along with the antibodies can be passed on to others.
Average time to remove the virus
Among other things, the research concluded that patients between the age of 6 and 15 took longer to eliminate the virus (32 days on average), compared to young people between the age of 16 and 22, who did so in about 18 days. In addition, the virus stayed longer in women’s bodies (44 days on average) compared to males (25.5 days). Experts also determined that the average time from positive to virus can no longer be detected was 25 days, while antibodies in the blood took 18 days to appear. However, neutralizing antibodies, which potentially protect a person from reinfection, were detected at approximately 36 days.
“The bottom line here is that we can’t let our guard down just because a child has antibodies or no longer shows symptoms,” said Bahar, who stresses the importance of maintaining good hygiene and social estating as a “fundamental” measure.
With information Rt

Original source in Spanish