Teen With COVID-19 Infected 11 Relatives From IL, 3 Other States

COOK COUNTY, IL — A 13-year-old girl with COVID-19 infected 11 family members from Illinois and three other states at a maskless social gathering over the summer, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the holidays approach, experts say the incident should serve as a warning that the virus can spread easily during family gatherings, and children, who may have caught the virus at school or during social events, can spread it to their parents and grandparents, even if they don't have symptoms themselves.

It's not clear where the 3-week family vacation took place, but the gathering of five households included several family members from suburban Cook County. Others came from Georgia, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. By the end of the event, the girl's mother, father, two brothers, two grandparents, two uncles, two aunts and a cousin had developed symptoms. Two of those sickened sought emergency care, and one was hospitalized, though all have since recovered from their immediate symptoms.

The long-term symptoms of the virus can linger for months, damage organs and increase the risk of chronic health problems, according to the Mayo Clinic.

All but two of the 14 people who stayed in the five-bedroom, two-bathroom house developed COVID-19 symptoms, according to the CDC. Six of them were confirmed positive through viral tests, while four others were ruled as probable cases based on antigen testing or other clinical criteria, and two more were ruled suspected cases based on positive antibody tests.

Six other family members visited the house but maintained physical distance and remained outdoors, according to the CDC. None of the visitors caught the virus.

Public health officials think the teen was exposed to the virus during a large outbreak in June. She was tested after returning home, about four days after she was exposed, but initially tested negative for the virus. Two days later, the girl developed the first symptoms. That same day, her family traveled to the family gathering.

"This outbreak highlights several important issues. First, children and adolescents can serve as the source for COVID-19 outbreaks within families, even when their symptoms are mild," the CDC said. "Second, this investigation provides evidence of the benefit of physical distancing as a mitigation strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission."

SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the specific coronavirus that causes the respiratory illness COVID-19.

Experts now believe the coronavirus is airborne, and tiny droplets containing the virus can linger indoors for hours as aerosols. Kimberly Prather, an atmospheric chemist who authored a letter in the journal Science calling airborne transmission the dominant means of infection, told NPR that she recommends opening doors and windows to improve ventilation and moving gatherings outdoors whenever possible.