SARS-CoV-2 surveillance (09/2020 - 03/2021) in elementary schools and daycare facilities in Bavaria
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Abstract
Here we report our results of a multi-center, open cohort study (“COVID-Kids-Bavaria”) investigating the distribution of SARS-CoV-2 among children and staff in 99 daycare facilities and 48 elementary schools in Bavaria, Germany. Overall, 2568 children (1337 school children, 1231 preschool children) and 1288 adults (466 teachers, 822 daycare staff) consented to participate in the study and were randomly tested in three consecutive phases (September/October 2020, November/December 2020, March 2021). In total, 7062 throat swabs were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR. In phase I, only one daycare worker tested positive. In phase II, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in three daycare workers, two preschool children, and seven school children. In phase III, no sample tested positive. This corresponds to a positive test rate of 0.05% in phase I, 0.4% in phase II and 0% in phase III. After phase III, antibody testing was offered to 713 study participants in elementary schools. A seroprevalence rate of 7.7% (students) and 4.5% (teachers) was determined. We conclude that during the initial waves of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the risk of a positive SARS-CoV-2 result correlated positively with the local 7-day incidence. Thus, an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the setting of daycare and elementary schooling was unlikely.
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SciScore for 10.1101/2022.01.18.22269445: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics IRB: Local ethics committees approved the study protocol and all related documents.
Consent: Participants were eligible for enrollment if they met the following inclusion criteria: child aged 1 to 10 years or teachers / daycare staff attending the participating facilities at the day of assessment and written informed consent provided by participants or their legal representatives.Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2: Each visit entailed testing of a random sample for SARS-CoV-2 by oral throat swabs and subsequent pseudonymized RT-PCR analysis. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis To determine the point prevalence on an alpha level of 5% with a power … SciScore for 10.1101/2022.01.18.22269445: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics IRB: Local ethics committees approved the study protocol and all related documents.
Consent: Participants were eligible for enrollment if they met the following inclusion criteria: child aged 1 to 10 years or teachers / daycare staff attending the participating facilities at the day of assessment and written informed consent provided by participants or their legal representatives.Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2: Each visit entailed testing of a random sample for SARS-CoV-2 by oral throat swabs and subsequent pseudonymized RT-PCR analysis. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis To determine the point prevalence on an alpha level of 5% with a power of 80%, 3000 samples per study phase were necessary. Table 2: Resources
Antibodies Sentences Resources Seroprevalence substudy: To assess seroprevalence in our cohort, antibody-testing against SARS-CoV-2 was offered to staff and children in 15 selected elementary schools in June/July 2021. antibody-testing against SARS-CoV-2suggested: NoneResults from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:An anonymous non-responder questionnaire showed no significant differences with respect to demographics and experience of personal limitations due to restrictions of everyday life. However, participants and non-participants differed in their perception of their personal risk and of the necessity of hygiene measures. These moderate differences were expected and indicate a minor but no major selection bias. The initial sample size calculation was based on the assumption that 0.5% of PCR samples would be positive. This figure was derived from an estimated point prevalence of 3% [16] and an average incubation period of 6 days [17]. When testing an individual only on one day, as in our study by design, 5 out of 6 individuals might escape. Retrospectively the assumed figure of positive samples was an overestimation, and the projected sample size was not reached in phase I due to a low recall rate and in phase III due to lockdown measures. However, intensified recruitment in phase II led to an inclusion of 2900 individuals and a detection of 0.4% positive samples thereby almost meeting the prior assumptions. On the other hand, the low number of detected cases is informative in itself as it suggests that established hygiene measures worked reliably and prevented daycare facilities and elementary schools from major outbreaks. These findings build upon the results of a previous study conducted in the Munich metropolitan area [18]. Moreover, the risk of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection...
Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.
Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.
Results from rtransparent:- Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- No protocol registration statement was detected.
Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.
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