Children can test positive for Covid-19 even if they have antibodies

We can't let our guard down just because a child has antibodies or is asymptomatic, wrote authors of a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association Paediatrics last Thursday that suggests that children still have the potential to transmit the SARS-CoV-2 virus even if antibodies are detected in their blood.

This is because researchers found that the virus and the antibodies coexisted in children which is not the case with other viruses where once antibodies are detected, the virus is not seen anymore.

In the light of these findings, the president of the Bangalore Paediatric Society, Dr Ravishankara Marpalli, who is also the HOD of Paediatrics at SS Sparsh Hospital on Mysore Road, cautioned that once the schools reopen, alternating children between offline and online classes is of paramount importance for the safety of teachers, school staff, van drivers and the children themselves.

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Dr Rajath Athreya, a Consultant Paediatrician at Rainbow Children’s Hospital in Marathahalli, said, "Health workers are being tested for seroprevalence to see if they have developed antibodies and are safe to get back to work."

"Antibodies are proteins that the body produces in response to a virus. If the antibodies can clear the system of the virus, they're called neutralising antibodies. The body then memorises this and produces the same antibodies so that the virus doesn't affect the body again. This is what drug manufacturers aim to produce in the form of vaccines," he added.

Dr. Sagar Bhattad, Consultant, Paediatric Immunology, Aster CMI Hospital, told DH, "The reason patients are not being tested before discharge is the fact that the RTPCR test may be positive even after a few weeks of acquiring the infection, even if they are not infective. Children who are positive on PCR and antibodies may not be infective."

Echoing similar sentiments, Dr BG Raghunandan, a paediatrician at the government-run KC General Hospital in Malleshwaram said that the virus will be present in the system upto 28 days and sometimes upto 45 days, in children as well as adults. There are two types of antibodies, IgM and IgG antibodies that start appearing in the body from day seven and day 14 respectively. IgG antibodies is present for several months.

"It is normal for patients to test positive for both, the virus and the antibodies, if one were to test a patient on day 7, 14 or 25. Even if they test positive on an RTPCR test, they cannot spread the infection as the test is picking up the dead virus only," he said.