SARS-CoV-2 transmissions in students and teachers: seroprevalence follow-up study in a German secondary school in November and December 2020

Armann, Jakob; Kirsten, Claudia; Galow, Lukas; Kahre, Elisabeth; Haag, Luise; Dalpke, Alexander H.; Lück, Christian; Berner, Reinhard

doi:10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001036

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…On one hand, viral culture studies suggest that children may be less infectious than adults 2 , contact tracing studies show low rates of in-school transmission [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] , and surveillance studies demonstrate little increased transmission when schools re-opened [14][15][16][17][18][19] . On the other hand, seroprevalence studies have been conducted to account for asymptomatic transmission, but many studies have reported data early in the pandemic, or in the setting of partial school closure 15,[20][21][22] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among Vancouver public school staff in British Columbia, Canada

Goldfarb

Mâsse

Watts

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Importance: Contact-tracing studies suggest minimal secondary transmission in schools. However, there are limited school data accounting for asymptomatic cases, particularly late in the 2020/21 school year, and in the context of uninterrupted in-person schooling and widespread community transmission. Objectives: To determine the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in a sample of school staff, compared to the community, and to COVID-19 rates among all students and staff within the same school population. Design: Incident COVID-19 cases among students and school staff using public health data, with an embedded cross-sectional serosurvey among school staff sampled from February 10 to May 15, 2021, comparing to age, sex and geographic location-matched blood donors sampled in January 2021. Setting: Vancouver School District (British Columbia, Canada) from kindergarten to grade 12. Participants: Active school staff enrolled from February 3 to April 23, 2021. Main outcome measures: SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a sample of school staff using spike (S)-based testing (unvaccinated staff) or N-based serology testing (vaccinated staff). Results: The incidence of COVID-19 cases among students attending in-person was 9.8 per 1,000 students during the 2020/21 school year (N = 47,280 students), and among staff was 13 per 1,000 since the beginning of the pandemic (N = 7,071 active school staff). In total, 1,689 school staff (64% elementary, 28% secondary, 8.3% school board staff or multiple grades) completed the questionnaire, 78.2% had classroom responsibilities, and spent a median of 17.6 hours in class per week [IQR: 5.0 - 25 hours]. Although 21.5% (363/1,686) reported close contact with a COVID-19 case, only 1.4% (24/1688) of the school staff reported having had a positive viral nucleic acid test. Of this group, five believed they acquired the infection at school. The adjusted seroprevalence in staff who gave blood (1,556/1,689, 92.1%) was 2.3% [95%CI: 1.6 - 3.2%] compared to 2.3% [95%CI: 1.7 - 3.0%] in blood donors. Conclusion and relevance: Despite high reported COVID-19 cases among students and staff, and frequent within-school exposures, we found no detectable increase in seroprevalence among school staff above the community seroprevalence. These findings corroborate claims that, with appropriate mitigation strategies, in-person schooling is not associated with significantly increased risk for school staff.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among Vancouver public school staff in British Columbia, Canada

Goldfarb

Mâsse

Watts

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…We identified 9 studies that reported data on SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in educational settings providing in-person activities, 14,15,30,[33][34][35][36][37][38] with a total of 17,879 subjects involved (eTable 2 in the Supplement). All studies were performed in Europe during 2020.…”

Section: Sars-cov-2 Seroprevalence In Educational Settings (Serosurveys)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the above-described point prevalence cross-sectional studies inform on the rates of current infections, cross-sectional serosurveys inform on cumulative exposure to the virus for tested participants. We also identified three cohort studies assessing prevalence of antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 at different time points, with participants tested twice to examine longitudinal changes of seroprevalence, [36][37][38] and we included the most recent testing in our metanalysis. The majority of the studies were judged of high quality (70%, eTable 5).…”

Section: Sars-cov-2 Seroprevalence In Educational Settings (Serosurveys)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…39,40 In both cases, school-based COVID-19 outbreaks occurred at the very onset of the pandemic and in the absence of preventive measures, leading to 38.1% and 43.4% seropositive pupils and teachers, respectively, in one French high school, 39 and 9.9% and 16.6% seropositive students and staff in the Chilean study. 40 In the three cohort studies, [36][37][38] increased seroprevalence was recorded during the second study visit, which took place after the summer break, 36 or in December 2020. 37,38 In their study, Ulyte and colleagues reported that SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence raised from 3% in the summer to 4.5% in late autumn in school children in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland.…”

Section: Sars-cov-2 Seroprevalence In Educational Settings (Serosurveys)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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SARS-CoV-2 circulation in the school setting: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Martinoli

Vecchia

Raimondi

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background. The contribution of children to viral spread in schools is still under debate. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies to investigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the school setting. Methods: Literature searches from April, 2021 and repeated on May, 15th 2021 yielded a total of 1088 publications: screening, contact tracing and seroprevalence studies. MOOSE guidelines were followed and data analyzed using random-effects models. Results: From screening studies involving more than 120,000 subjects, we estimated 0.31% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.05-0.81%) SARS-CoV-2 point prevalence in schools. Contact tracing studies, involving a total of 112,622 contacts of children and adults, showed that onward viral transmission was limited (2.54%; 95%CI 0.76-5.31). Young index cases were found to be 74% significantly less likely than adults to favor viral spread (Odds Ratio [OR]=0.26; 95%CI 0.11-0.63) and were less susceptible to infection (OR=0.60; 95% CI 0.25-1.47). Finally, from seroprevalence studies, with a total of 17,879 subjects involved, we estimated that children are 43% significantly less likely than adults to test positive for antibodies (OR=0.57; 95%CI: 0.49-0.68). In conclusion, testing all subjects in schools, independently of symptoms, students less likely than adults favor viral spread and SARS-CoV-2 circulation in schools was found to be limited.

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“…6,7 However, major outbreaks of clustered SARS-CoV-2 infections in schools are rare. [7][8][9] Both the specific characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children (lower viral load and more frequent asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infections) and the effective mitigation measures taken up by schools, including mask wearing of adults and children, could have contributed to the limited spread in schools. [10][11][12] Despite this uncertainty, numerous countries implemented nationwide school closures to confine the diffusion of SARS-CoV-2 infections.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions towards mask use in school children during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: the Ciao Corona Study

Ammann

Ulytė

Haile

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background: Mask wearing contributes to the reduction of transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In Switzerland, compulsory use of masks was introduced in indoor public spaces and later in schools. In the canton of Zurich, masks were introduced for secondary school children (grades 7-9) from November 2020, and for primary school children (grades 4-6) from February 2021- along with other protective measures against SARS-CoV-2. This study explored perceptions towards the usefulness of masks in school and public in a cohort of children and adolescents in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, in January - May 2021. Methods: School children aged 10 to 17 years enrolled in Ciao Corona, a prospective school-based cohort study, responded to nested online surveys between January 12 to March 24 2021 (Q1) and March 10 to May 16 2021 (Q2). Secondary school children were surveyed at Q1 and Q2, and primary school children at Q2 only. Surveys for parents and their children included questions on children's perception of the usefulness of masks and mask wearing behavior. Associations between perceived usefulness of masks and child's school level, gender, and parents' educational attainment were analyzed with Pearson's and McNemar's chi-squared tests. Free-text comments provided by children were classified into categories of expressed attitude towards mask wearing. Results: 595 (54% girls) and 1118 (52% girls) school children responded to online questionnaires at Q1 and Q2, respectively. More than half of school children perceived masks to be useful at school (Q1:60% and Q2:57%) and in public (Q1:69% and Q2:60%). Girls perceived masks as useful more often than boys (at Q2 at school: 61% versus 53%, in public: 64% versus 57%), and children of parents with high educational attainment more often than those of parents with lower educational attainment (at Q2 at school: 61% versus 49%, in public: 63% versus 54%). There were no differences in the perceived usefulness of masks among children in primary versus secondary school. At Q1 and Q2 each, about 20% of children provided individual statements about masks, of which 36% at Q1 and 16% at Q2 reported side-effects and discomfort such as skin irritations, headache or difficulties breathing during physical education. Conclusion: Approximately 60% of school children perceived masks at school and in public places as useful. A small but non-negligible proportion of children reported discomfort and side-effects that should be considered to ensure high adherence to mask wearing among school children.

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SARS-CoV-2 transmissions in students and teachers: seroprevalence follow-up study in a German secondary school in November and December 2020

Cited by 21 publications

References 18 publications

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among Vancouver public school staff in British Columbia, Canada

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among Vancouver public school staff in British Columbia, Canada

SARS-CoV-2 circulation in the school setting: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Perceptions towards mask use in school children during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: the Ciao Corona Study

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