Detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a pediatric population from south Italy without symptoms of Coronavirus Disease 2019

Background: SARS-CoV-2 has had dramatic consequences on the world population in morbidity and mortality and socially. Clinical manifestations range from common cold-like to more severe disease such as bronchitis, pneumonia, severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, multi-organ failure and even death. The pediatric population may be infected with SARS-CoV-2, but is less likely to be symptomatic or develop severe symptoms.

Methods: We analyzed a cohort of pediatric subjects from Campania Region, south Italy, without symptoms of SARS-CoV2, to evaluate the distribution of infection in relation to gender and age. Detection on nasopharyngeal swabs was performed with two different RT-PCR methods, a qualitative rapid test (VitaPCR^TM SARS-CoV-2 assay) and a quantitative test (SARS-CoV-2 ELITe MGB^® assay).

Results: Positive subjects were 52.63% male and 47.36% female. Regarding age distribution, we described a consistent increase of detection rate (82.45%) in 0-2 year-old patients.

Conclusion: The importance of children in transmitting the virus remains uncertain; however our analysis of the distribution of the infection in these subjects may help monitor SARS-CoV2 spread in the general population.