Prevalence of RT-qPCR-detected SARS-CoV-2 infection at schools: First results from the Austrian School-SARS-CoV-2 prospective cohort study

Willeit, Peter; Krause, Robert; Lamprecht, Bernd; Berghold, Andrea; Hanson, Buck; Stelzl, Evelyn; Stoiber, Heribert; Zuber, Johannes; Heinen, Robert; Koehler, Alwin; Bernhard, David; Borena, Wegene; Doppler, Christian; Laer, Dorotheé von; Schmidt, Hannes; Proell, Johannes; Steinmetz, Ivo; Wagner, Michael

doi:10.1101/2021.01.05.20248952

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Evidence on the role of schools in the spread of COVID-19 from other studies is mixed. Papers that focus on contract tracing of cases among students find limited spread from student infections (Zimmerman et al, 2021;Brandal et al, 2021;Ismail et al, 2020;Gillespie et al, 2021;Falk et al, 2021;Willeit et al, 2021). There is also some evidence that school openings are associated with increased cases in the surrounding community.…”

Section: Dynamic Panel Regression Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association of Opening K-12 Schools With the Spread of Covid-19 in the United States: County-Level Panel Data Analysis

Chernozhukov¹,

Kasahara²,

Schrimpf³

2021

Preprint

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This paper empirically examines how the opening of K-12 schools and colleges is associated with the spread of COVID-19 using county-level panel data in the United States. Using data on foot traffic and K-12 school opening plans, we analyze how an increase in visits to schools and opening schools with different teaching methods (in-person, hybrid, and remote) is related to the 2-weeks forward growth rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases. Our debiased panel data regression analysis with a set of county dummies, interactions of state and week dummies, and other controls shows that an increase in visits to both K-12 schools and colleges is associated with a subsequent increase in case growth rates. The estimates indicate that fully opening K-12 schools with in-person learning is associated with a 5 (SE = 2) percentage points increase in the growth rate of cases. We also find that the positive association of K-12 school visits or in-person school openings with case growth is stronger for counties that do not require staff to wear masks at schools. These results have a causal interpretation in a structural model with unobserved county and time confounders. Sensitivity analysis shows that the baseline results are robust to timing assumptions and alternative specifications.

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Section: Dynamic Panel Regression Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association of Opening K-12 Schools With the Spread of Covid-19 in the United States: County-Level Panel Data Analysis

Chernozhukov¹,

Kasahara²,

Schrimpf³

2021

Preprint

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“…RT-qPCR-based approaches for SARS-CoV-2 screenings in schools have been described 15, 29, 30 . In these studies, different specimens, such as buccal and anal swabs as well as gargling solutions and saliva samples were obtained.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective high-throughput RT-qPCR screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections in children

Dewald

Suárez

Johnen

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Systematic SARS-CoV-2 testing is a valuable tool for infection control and surveillance. However, broad application of high sensitive RT-qPCR testing in children is often hampered due to unpleasant sample collection, limited RT-qPCR capacities, and high costs. Here, we developed a high-throughput approach (Lolli-Method) for sensitive SARS-CoV-2 detection in children, combining non-invasive sample collection with an RT-qPCR-pool testing strategy. SARS-CoV-2 infections were diagnosed with sensitivities of 100% and 93.9% when viral loads were >10E6 copies/ml and >10E3 copies/ml in corresponding Naso-/Oropharyngeal-swabs, respectively. For effective application of the Lolli-Method in schools and daycare facilities, SIR-modeling indicated a preferred frequency of two tests per week. The developed test strategy was implemented in 3,700 schools and 698 daycare facilities in Germany, screening over 800,000 individuals twice per week. In a period of 3 months, 6,364 pool-RT-qPCRs tested positive (0.64%) ranging from 0.05% to 2.61% per week. Notably, infections correlated with local SARS-CoV-2 incidences as well as with a school social deprivation index. Moreover, in comparison with the alpha variant, statistical modeling revealed a 31% increase for multiple (>1 child) infections per class following infections with the delta variant. We conclude that the Lolli-Method is a powerful tool for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance and infection control in schools and daycare facilities.

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“…Other alternative non-oropharyngeal swab approaches have also been explored and may be practical for both adults and children. For example, Willeit and colleagues have reported results from gargling samples (21). While this method may be feasible in adults and older children, it cannot be used in younger children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 screening in educational settings and children aged < 12 years

Hoch¹,

Vogel²,

Eberle³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Objectives Children have been disproportionately affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Novel test strategies are urgently needed to ensure safe operation of schools and childcare institutions and to avoid prolonged closures. Methods A weekly SARS-CoV-2 sentinel study in primary schools, kindergartens and childcare facilities over a 12 week period was conducted. In total, 3123 concurrent oropharyngeal and saliva samples were processed for SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR testing in both children (n=2104) and staff (n=1019). Saliva sampling was optimised, and a novel sampling system was introduced and assessed for feasibility, the Salivette system. Results For children across all age groups a mean of 1,18 ml saliva could be obtained with this easy-to-handle system. Using 1293 concurrent oropharyngeal swabs from children, staff and participants of a positive control cohort as reference, the Salivette testing method could be assigned an overall specificity of 99.8% and sensititity of 95.1%. Of note clinical sensitivity defined as detection of positive cases with an oropharyngeal-swab derived Ct value < 33, was 100%. Comparative analysis of Ct values derived from saliva vs. oropharyngeal swabs demonstrated a significant difference (mean difference 4.23 (95% CI 2.48 to 6.00). Conclusions The Salivette system is an easy-to-use, safe and feasible collection method for saliva sampling and subsequent SARS-CoV-2 testing in children aged 3 years and above. In view of the excellent sensitivity and specificity documented in our study, this novel testing approach is a very reliable and much more pleasant alternative to oropharyngeal swab based testing, particularly in children and for self-testing in the home setting.

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Prevalence of RT-qPCR-detected SARS-CoV-2 infection at schools: First results from the Austrian School-SARS-CoV-2 prospective cohort study

Cited by 6 publications

References 39 publications

The Association of Opening K-12 Schools With the Spread of Covid-19 in the United States: County-Level Panel Data Analysis

The Association of Opening K-12 Schools With the Spread of Covid-19 in the United States: County-Level Panel Data Analysis

Effective high-throughput RT-qPCR screening for SARS-CoV-2 infections in children

Feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 screening in educational settings and children aged < 12 years

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