(Robert Preidt/ HealthDay News) — The new coronavirus and antibodies that fight it can be in children’s bodies at the same time, surprised researchers have found.
“With most viruses, when you start to detect antibodies, you won’t detect the virus anymore. But with COVID-19, we’re seeing both,” said Dr. Burak Bahar, director of laboratory informatics at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
“This means children still have the potential to transmit the virus even if antibodies are detected,” she added.
Bahar is lead author of a study that included more than 6,300 children who were tested for the new coronavirus and 215 patients who were tested for antibodies. Of those 215 patients, 33 were tested for both the virus and antibodies. Nine had antibodies in their blood and later tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to findings published Sept. 3 in the Journal of Pediatrics. (…)