Children do not seem to drive transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We isolated culture-competent virus in vitro from 12 (52%) of 23 SARS-CoV-2-infected children; the youngest was 7 days old. Our findings show that symptomatic neonates, children, and teenagers shed infectious SARS-CoV-2, suggesting that transmission from them is plausible.
Keywords: 2019 novel coronavirus disease; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Switzerland; adolescents; children; coronavirus disease; neonates; respiratory diseases; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; viral shedding; viruses; zoonoses.