Department of Microbiology & Immunology, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and Host Inflammatory Responses, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2022 Jun 22;11(6):248-256. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piac010.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroprevalence studies largely focus on adults, but little is known about spread in children. We determined SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in children and adolescents from Arkansas over the first year of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
We tested remnant serum samples from children ages 1-18 years who visited Arkansas hospitals or clinics for non-COVID-19-related reasons from April 2020 through April 2021 for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We used univariable and multivariable regression models to determine the association between seropositivity and participant characteristics.
Among 2357 participants, seroprevalence rose from 7.9% in April/May 2020 (95% CI, 4.9-10.9) to 25.0% in April 2021 (95% CI, 21.5-28.5). Hispanic and black children had a higher association with antibody positivity than non-Hispanic and white children, respectively, in multiple sampling periods.
By spring 2021, most children in Arkansas were not infected with SARS-CoV-2. With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants, recognition of long-term effects of COVID-19, and the lack of an authorized pediatric SARS-CoV-2 vaccine at the time, these results highlight the importance of including children in SARS-CoV-2 public health, clinical care, and research strategies.
严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2（SARS-CoV-2）血清流行率研究主要集中在成年人，但对儿童中的传播情况知之甚少。我们在 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行的第一年，确定了阿肯色州儿童和青少年中的 SARS-CoV-2 血清流行率。
我们检测了 2020 年 4 月至 2021 年 4 月期间因非 COVID-19 相关原因而到阿肯色州医院或诊所就诊的 1-18 岁儿童的剩余血清样本中的 SARS-CoV-2 抗体。我们使用单变量和多变量回归模型来确定血清阳性率与参与者特征之间的关联。
在 2357 名参与者中，血清阳性率从 2020 年 4/5 月的 7.9%（95%CI，4.9-10.9）上升到 2021 年 4 月的 25.0%（95%CI，21.5-28.5）。在多个采样期内，与非西班牙裔和白人儿童相比，西班牙裔和黑人儿童的抗体阳性率更高。
到 2021 年春季，阿肯色州的大多数儿童并未感染 SARS-CoV-2。随着 SARS-CoV-2 变异株的出现、对 COVID-19 长期影响的认识以及当时缺乏授权的儿童 SARS-CoV-2 疫苗，这些结果强调了将儿童纳入 SARS-CoV-2 公共卫生、临床护理和研究策略的重要性。
