SARS-CoV-2 infection in schools in a northern French city: a retrospective serological cohort study in an area of high transmission, France, January to April 2020

BackgroundChildren's role in SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology remains unclear. We investigated an initially unnoticed SARS-CoV-2 outbreak linked to schools in northern France, beginning as early as mid-January 2020.AimsThis retrospective observational study documents the extent of SARS-CoV-2 transmissio...

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Published in:Euro surveillance : bulletin européen sur les maladies transmissibles 2021-04, Vol.26 (15), p.17
Main Authors: Fontanet, Arnaud, Tondeur, Laura, Grant, Rebecca, Temmam, Sarah, Madec, Yoann, Bigot, Thomas, Grzelak, Ludivine, Cailleau, Isabelle, Besombes, Camille, Ungeheuer, Marie-Noëlle, Renaudat, Charlotte, Perlaza, Blanca Liliana, Arowas, Laurence, Jolly, Nathalie, Pellerin, Sandrine Fernandes, Kuhmel, Lucie, Staropoli, Isabelle, Huon, Christèle, Chen, Kuang-Yu, Crescenzo-Chaigne, Bernadette, Munier, Sandie, Charneau, Pierre, Demeret, Caroline, Bruel, Timothée, Eloit, Marc, Schwartz, Olivier, Hoen, Bruno
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child
Cohort analysis
Cohort Studies
COVID-19
Disease transmission
Elementary school students
Elementary schools
Epidemiology
France
France - epidemiology
Humans
Life Sciences
Retrospective Studies
SARS-CoV-2
Schools
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
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Summary:BackgroundChildren's role in SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology remains unclear. We investigated an initially unnoticed SARS-CoV-2 outbreak linked to schools in northern France, beginning as early as mid-January 2020.AimsThis retrospective observational study documents the extent of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, linked to an affected high school (n = 664 participants) and primary schools (n = 1,340 study participants), in the context of unsuspected SARS-CoV-2 circulation and limited control measures.MethodsBetween 30 March and 30 April 2020, all school staff, as well as pupils and their parents and relatives were invited for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing and to complete a questionnaire covering symptom history since 13 January 2020.ResultsIn the high school, infection attack rates were 38.1% (91/239), 43.4% (23/53), and 59.3% (16/27), in pupils, teachers, and non-teaching staff respectively vs 10.1% (23/228) and 12.0% (14/117) in the pupils' parents and relatives (p 
ISSN:1560-7917
1025-496X
1560-7917
1025-496X
DOI:10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.15.2001695