August 28, 2020

expert reaction to paper and editorial looking at clinical characteristics and viral RNA detection in children with COVID-19 in South Korea

A study and editorial piece, published in JAMA Pediatrics, looked at clinical characteristics and viral RNA detection in children with COVID-19 in South Korea.

Prof Calum Semple, Professor in Child Health and Outbreak Medicine, University of Liverpool, said:

“I share the concerns raised by the editorial commentators about this paper.  The presence of the virus genetic material in swabs the respiratory tract need not equate with transmission, particularly in people who do not have important symptoms such as cough and sneeze.”

Paper: ‘Clinical Characteristics and Viral RNA Detection in Children With Coronavirus Disease 2019 in the Republic of Korea’ by Mi Seon Han et al. was published in JAMA Pediatrics at 16:00 UK time on Friday 28 August 2020.

DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.3988

Editorial: ‘Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Viral Shedding in Pediatric Patients Infected With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2): Under the Surface’ by Roberta L. DeBiasi, and Meghan Delaney, was published in JAMA Pediatrics at 16:00 UK time on Friday 28 August 2020.

DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.3996

Declared interests

None received.