ArticlePloS one2021
A cross-sectional investigation of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and associated risk factors in children and adolescents in the United States.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Three-year Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein Antibody Among Children, Parental Awareness, and Contributors of Infection: A Single-school Cohort Study in Chiba, Japan.Journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Generalizability of anti-SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence estimates to the Montréal pediatric population: a comparison between 2 weighting methods.American journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in children seeking medical care in Seattle, WA June 2020 to December 2022.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Incidence rate and predictors of COVID-19 in the two largest cities of Burkina Faso - prospective cohort study in 2021 (ANRS-COV13).BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Characterisation of infection-induced SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence amongst children and adolescents in North Carolina.Epidemiology and infection · 2023Article
- Racial Disparities and Common Respiratory Infectious Diseases in Children of the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Association between COVID-19 risk-mitigation behaviors and specific mental disorders in youth.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2023Article
- Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in schoolchildren in the city of São Paulo, 2020.Revista de saude publica · 2023Article
- The Gut Microbiome of Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Microorganisms · 2022Review
- High Seroprevalence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Children in Vietnam: An Observational, Hospital-Based Study.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Feasibility of At-Home Virological and Serological Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in Children.Open forum infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Association between COVID-19 Risk-Mitigation Behaviors and Specific Mental Disorders in Youth.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2022Article
- SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody trajectories in mothers and infants over two months following maternal infection.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Article
- SARS-CoV-2 infections in infants in Haiti 2020-2021; evidence from a seroepidemiological cohort.PloS one · 2022Observational
- The COVID-19 pandemic in children and young people during 2020-2021: Learning about clinical presentation, patterns of spread, viral load, diagnosis and treatment.Journal of global healthArticle
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPediatric SARS-CoV-2 data remain limited and seropositivity rates in children were reported as <1% early in the pandemic. Seroepidemiologic evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 in children in a major metropolitan region of the US was performed.
methodsChildren and adolescents ≤19 years were enrolled in a cross-sectional, observational study of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence from July-October 2020 in Northern Virginia, US. Demographic, health, and COVID-19 exposure information was collected, and blood analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein total antibody. Risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity were analyzed. Orthogonal antibody testing was performed, and samples were evaluated for responses to different antigens.
resultsIn 1038 children, the anti-SARS-CoV-2 total antibody positivity rate was 8.5%. After multivariate logistic regression, significant risk factors included Hispanic ethnicity, public or absent insurance, a history of COVID-19 symptoms, exposure to person with COVID-19, a household member positive for SARS-CoV-2 and multi-family or apartment dwelling without a private entrance. 66% of seropositive children had no symptoms of COVID-19. Secondary analysis included orthogonal antibody testing with assays for 1) a receptor binding domain specific antigen and 2) a nucleocapsid specific antigen had concordance rates of 80.5% and 79.3% respectively.
conclusionsA much higher burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as determined by seropositivity, was found in children than previously reported; this was also higher compared to adults in the same region at a similar time. Contrary to prior reports, we determined children shoulder a significant burden of COVID-19 infection. The role of children's disease transmission must be considered in COVID-19 mitigation strategies including vaccination.
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