Longitudinal Study of Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies and Development of Immunity in School Children

  • STATUS
    Recruiting
  • participants needed
    8000
  • sponsor
    University of Zurich
Updated on 19 February 2024
antibody test
covid-19
SARS
respiratory tract infection
respiratory infection
acute respiratory syndrome (sars)

Summary

There is a lack of knowledge about how many children are infected with SARS-CoV-2, how often they are asymptomatic, and how long the immunity persists.

The main purpose of this study is to measure antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, symptoms, and risk factors in a representative cohort of children and adolescents in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, shortly after re-opening of the school system and thereafter. The study also investigates antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in parents of the children and school personnel.

Description

The role of children and adolescents in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 remains highly unclear and has been a key question since the early days of the pandemic. It has important consequences for policy decisions, especially concerning the opening of the schools, sport facilities and intergenerational contacts. However, the information on true infection rate and seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 is not known in children in Switzerland (and globally), as testing was limited to risk groups and those with SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) related symptoms. In addition, indications for testing were not uniform and handled heterogeneously. Hence, it is not known whether children are less frequently infected or simply less symptomatic.

This study builds up a system to monitor the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in children and adolescents who attend school in the canton of Zrich, Switzerland. The investigators aim to assess children of randomly selected primary and secondary schools during the first weeks of re-entering school from all districts of the canton of Zurich in June and July 2020, after the temporary closure due to COVID-19 pandemic, and again in October/November 2020 and February/March 2021. A follow-up capturing health status, symptoms and behaviors over time is important, since it is currently under investigation whether persons may be at risk for reinfection. Thus, a longitudinal assessment is crucial to determine the extent and duration of immunity.

In addition, the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the parents of the participating children will be tested in August/September 2020, to examine clusters of infections in households. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in school personnel will be tested in August/September 2020 and subsequently in October/November 2020 and February/March 2021, to examine temporal changes in the seroprevalences in the whole school community.

This study complements the ongoing coordinated efforts of seroprevalence studies in adults in Switzerland, through the Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+) coordinated CORONA IMMUNITAS studies.

Details
Condition Covid 19, SARS-CoV 2
Age 5-100 years
Treatment COVID-19 Antibody testing
Clinical Study IdentifierNCT04448717
SponsorUniversity of Zurich
Last Modified on19 February 2024

Eligibility

Yes No Not Sure

Inclusion Criteria

Any school child residing in Switzerland aged 5 years or older and attending a consenting to participate public or private school that hosts classes of interest (grade 1 through 9) in the canton of Zrich
Parents of participating children
Personnel employed in the participating schools
No acute respiratory and SARS-CoV-2 infection
In case of unknown respiratory infection, no presence of symptoms for at least 48 hours
In case of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection: inclusion at the earliest 21 days from PCR-positive diagnosis after the onset of potential symptoms and no presence of symptoms for at least 48 hours (according to Standard of Care)
Informed consent of parents or legal guardians and children, or the adult participant

Exclusion Criteria

No informed consent by schools or children, or the adult participant
Schools with <40 students in one of the sampled grades (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, or 8)
Children of Kindergarten age and younger
Suspicion of acute COVID-19 infection
Special need schools
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