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School-age children pose a danger to adults
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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It's strange to hear, but school-age children are... a source of infection for adults.
This is the conclusion reached by experts from the University of Rochester, led by the study's lead author, Anne Felsey. The results of their research were published in the Journal of Clinical Virology.
Experts analyzed a thousand samples of sputum and nasal discharge from adults suffering from COPD - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Scientists set out to identify the source of the infection that was causing people to become constantly ill.
“Before we started working, I expected that the main factors that provoke persistent colds would be a person’s low immunity or chronic diseases,” says Dr. Felsey. “But in the end, we found that the main factor that increases the risk of infecting others and even worsens the course of the disease is school-age children.”
The data obtained during the research help explain the fact that those people whose work involves direct contact with children are at much greater risk of “catching” the infection.
More than a third of the population is infected with rhinoviruses, but they don’t even know it.
Further research shows that patients who begin to show symptoms of the disease that develop into a full-blown cold, with all the consequences ( runny nose, sore throat, fever and hoarse voice), come into contact with children twice as much as those whose infection “dies out” at the initial stage.
Although scientists cannot yet give a definitive reason for this reaction, they suggest that it is most likely because children's immune systems are not strong enough to create protection against the wide range of rhinoviruses that we encounter throughout our lives. As a rule, colds in children are accompanied by major complications.
"It is quite possible that the likelihood of an adult catching an infection depends on how well their body can resist the development of a cold. But when they are surrounded by children, the risk of catching a full-blown cold doubles," the researchers say.
In order to avoid falling ill with colds, doctors advise washing your hands more often and touching your eyes and nose less, and also trying to have less contact with sick children.
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