Infants Younger Than 6 Months Infected With SARS-CoV-2 Show the Highest Respiratory Viral Loads

OCHOA, VALERIA; DÍAZ, FERNANDO ERRA; RAMIREZ, EZEQUIEL; FENTINI, MARÍA CLARA; CAROBENE, MAURICIO; GEFFNER, JORGE; ARRUVITO, LOURDES; REMES LENICOV, FEDERICO

JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES

UNIV CHICAGO PRESS

Año: 2022

0022-1899

There is a paucity of reports on the characteristics of severe acuterespiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection ininfants, because most studies have grouped infants with olderchildren. We analyzed the viral loads of 45 318 SARS-CoV-2?positive nasopharyngeal swab samples obtained in BuenosAires, Argentina. Infants younger than 6 months presentedhigher viral loads than any other age group. Children olderthan 6 months showed significantly lower viral loads, similarto those founds in adults. This observation raises new questionsregarding the role of infants in the spreading of SARS-CoV-2infection