Researchers from the University of Padua and the Italian health authority and the research organization for animal health and food safety (IZSVe), in collaboration with Padua Hospital, Penta Foundation, Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital and the University Milano-Bicocca, have recently published the article “Mild SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Neutralizing Antibody Titers” on the Pediatrics journal.

It shows the results from an observational study that demonstrates how in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic subjects, the antibody response against SARS-CoV-2 in children is superior and longer lasting than in adults.

The study involved 57 families affected by COVID-19, who received medical assistance at Padua Hospital – University of Padua, as part of the long-term follow-up programme for families.

Clinical studies conducted on other infectious diseases reported that the presence of high levels of neutralizing antibodies reduces the chances of contracting the disease again. Therefore, the superior paediatric antibody response, described by researchers from University of Padova and IZSVe, makes the hypothesis that children might be more protected than adults in the event of a second exposure to the virus plausible.

Discover more in the Penta press release.

Read the full article here!

This work is partially supported by the ORCHESTRA project (Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement Number 101016167) and RECOVER (Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement Number 101003589). It received financial support from Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo, Italy