SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and COVID-19 among 5 years-old Amazonian children and their association with poverty and food insecurity

What is it about?

The epidemiology of childhood COVID-19 in the tropics remains a relatively neglected research topic, in part because SARS-CoV-2 typically causes fewer severe illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths in children than in adults. This study showed that 45% of 660 participants in a birth cohort study in the Brazilian Amazon had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at the age of 5 years, although only 5% of them reported previously diagnosed COVID-19 episodes – implying that as many as 8 in 9 SARS-CoV-2 infections had remained undiagnosed in these young children. Only 16% of the seropositive children had reportedly experienced cough, shortness of breath, and/or loss of taste or smell. The most socioeconomically vulnerable participants were more likely to have experienced SARS-CoV-2 infection and overt COVID-19 by the age of 5 years. Importantly, children exposed to household food insecurity, which affects 54% of our study participants, had their COVID-19 risk increased by 76%.

Featured Image

Photo by bill wegener on Unsplash

Photo by bill wegener on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Childhood SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19-associated illness were substantially underdiagnosed and underreported in the Amazon. Children in the most socioeconomically vulnerable households were disproportionately affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection and disease.

Perspectives