Department of Pediatrics, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Institute for Virology and Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
BMJ Open. 2021 Jun 10;11(6):e049876. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049876.
To quantify the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections in secondary schools after their reopening in May 2020.
Repeated SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study after the reopening of schools and 4 months later.
Secondary school in Dresden, Germany.
1538 students grades 8-12 and 507 teachers from 13 schools.
Serial blood sampling and SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody assessment.
Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in study population. Number of undetected cases.
1538 students and 507 teachers were initially enrolled, and 1334 students and 445 teachers completed both study visits. The seroprevalence for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 0.6% in May/June and the same in September/October. Even in schools with reported COVID-19 cases before the lockdown of 13 March, no clusters could be identified. Of 12 persons with positive serology five had a known history of confirmed COVID-19; 23 out of 24 participants with a household history of COVID-91 were seronegative.
Schools do not play a crucial role in driving the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in a low-prevalence setting. Transmission in families occurs very infrequently, and the number of unreported cases is low in this age group. These observations do not support school closures as a strategy fighting the pandemic in a low-prevalence setting.
DRKS00022455.
量化 2020 年 5 月学校复课后 SARS-CoV-2 感染的数量。
学校复课后和 4 个月后进行 SARS-CoV-2 血清流行率重复研究。
德国德累斯顿的一所中学。
来自 13 所学校的 1538 名 8-12 年级学生和 507 名教师。
连续采血样并评估 SARS-CoV-2 IgG 抗体。
研究人群中 SARS-CoV-2 抗体的血清阳性率。未检出病例的数量。
最初纳入了 1538 名学生和 507 名教师，有 1334 名学生和 445 名教师完成了两次研究访问。5 月/6 月 SARS-CoV-2 抗体血清阳性率为 0.6%，9 月/10 月相同。即使在 3 月 13 日封锁前有报告 COVID-19 病例的学校，也未发现聚集性病例。12 名血清学阳性者中有 5 人有确诊 COVID-19 的已知病史；24 名有 COVID-91 家庭史的参与者中有 23 人血清学阴性。
在低流行地区，学校在推动 SARS-CoV-2 大流行方面没有起到关键作用。家庭内传播非常罕见，且该年龄段未报告病例数量较低。这些观察结果不支持在低流行地区将学校关闭作为对抗大流行的策略。
DRKS00022455。
