Children under the age of five have 10 to 100 times higher levels of genetic material from the coronavirus in the nose compared to older children and adults, a study at JAMA Pediatrics said Thursday.
Its authors wrote that this meant that young children could be important drivers of COVID-19 transmission within communities, a suggestion at odds with the current prevailing narrative.
The document comes as the administration of United States President Donald Trump is pushing for schools and daycares to reopen to boost the economy.
Between March 23 and April 27, researchers conducted nasal swab tests on 145 Chicago patients with mild to moderate illness within a week of symptom onset.
The patients were divided into three groups: 46 children under five years old, 51 children between five and 17 years old and 48 adults between 18 and 65 years old.
The team, led by Taylor Heald-Sargent of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, observed "10 to 100 times more SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract of young children."
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