A new study in the US has theorized that coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in children stays longer than adults, South China Morning Post reported.
According to the research conducted by Children’s National Hospital in Washington on 60 children tested for COVID-19, it showed that the average time it took for them to test negative was 25 days—a figure that is longer than previous estimates, which Chinese researchers said is only 18 days. For adults, worldwide studies suggest the median time to testing negative is around 20 days.
In addition, one of the kids in the hospital was found to have tested negative only 62 days after being infected.
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“The takeaway here is that we can’t let our guard down,” said Burak Bahar, lead author of the study said in a statement.
In addition, researchers theorized that it will take 36 days for children to build up enough antibodies to fight COVID-19. However, half of those did not achieve such during the period of infection.
“With most viruses, when you start to detect antibodies, you won’t detect the virus anymore. But with Covid-19, we’re seeing both. This means children still have the potential to transmit the virus even if antibodies are detected,” Bahar added.
The researchers also noted that much is still unknown and yet to be studied about COVID-19 and its effect on children.
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