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Symptoms, SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies, and Neutralization Capacity in a Cross Sectional-Population of German Children

Laub O, Leipold G, Toncheva AA, Peterhoff D, Einhauser S, Neckermann P, Borchers N, Santos-Valente E, Kheiroddin P, Buntrock-Doepke H, Laub S, Schoeberl P, Schweiger-Kabesch A, Ewald D, Horn M, Niggel J, Ambrosch A, Überla K, Gerling S, Brandstetter S, Wagner R, Kabesch M (2021)

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Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Book Volume: 9

Article Number: 678937

DOI: 10.3389/fped.2021.678937

Abstract

Background: Children and youth are affected rather mildly in the acute phase of COVID-19 and thus, SARS-CoV-2 infection infection may easily be overlooked. In the light of current discussions on the vaccinations of children it seems necessary to better identify children who are immune against SARS-CoV-2 due to a previous infection and to better understand COVID-19 related immune reactions in children. Methods: In a cross-sectional design, children aged 1–17 were recruited through primary care pediatricians for the study (a) randomly, if they had an appointment for a regular health check-up or (b) if parents and children volunteered and actively wanted to participate in the study. Symptoms were recorded and two antibody tests were performed in parallel directed against S (in house test) and N (Roche Elecsys) viral proteins. In children with antibody response in either test, neutralization activity was determined. Results: We identified antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in 162 of 2,832 eligible children (5.7%) between end of May and end of July 2020 in three, in part strongly affected regions of Bavaria in the first wave of the pandemic. Approximately 60% of antibody positive children (n = 97) showed high levels (>97th percentile) of antibodies against N-protein, and for the S-protein, similar results were found. Sufficient neutralizing activity was detected for only 135 antibody positive children (86%), irrespective of age and sex. Initial COVID-19 symptoms were unspecific in children except for the loss of smell and taste and unrelated to antibody responses or neutralization capacity. Approximately 30% of PCR positive children did not show seroconversion in our small subsample in which PCR tests were performed. Conclusions: Symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infections are unspecific in children and antibody responses show a dichotomous structure with strong responses in many and no detectable antibodies in PCR positive children and missing neutralization activity in a relevant proportion of the young population.

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APA:

Laub, O., Leipold, G., Toncheva, A.A., Peterhoff, D., Einhauser, S., Neckermann, P.,... Kabesch, M. (2021). Symptoms, SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies, and Neutralization Capacity in a Cross Sectional-Population of German Children. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.678937

MLA:

Laub, Otto, et al. "Symptoms, SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies, and Neutralization Capacity in a Cross Sectional-Population of German Children." Frontiers in Pediatrics 9 (2021).

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