SARS-CoV-2 transmission in teenagers and young adults in Fútbol Club Barcelona’s Multidisciplinary Sports Training Academy

Journal article

Most studies, aimed at determining the incidence and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in children and teenagers, have been developed in school settings. Our study conducted surveillance and inferred attack rates focusing on the practice of sports. Prospective and observational study of those attending the sports facilities of Fútbol Club Barcelona (FCB), in Barcelona, Spain, throughout the 2020–2021 season. Participants were young players (from five different sports) and adult workers, who belonged to stable teams (shared routines and were involved in same quarantine rules). Biweekly health questionnaires and SARS-CoV-2 screening were conducted. From the 234 participants included, 70 (30%) both lived and trained in the FCB facilities (Recruitment Pathway 1;RP1) and 164 (70%) lived at their own household and just came to the facilities to train (RP2). During the study, 38 positive cases were identified; none had severe symptoms or needed hospitalization. The overall weekly incidence in the cohorts did not differ compared to the one expected in the community, except for 2 weeks when an outbreak occurred. The attack rate (AR) was three times higher for the participants from RP1, in comparison to those from RP2 (p¿<¿0.01). A Basketball team showed a significant higher AR.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This study was supported by the Kids Corona platform (funding from Banco Santander, Stavros Niarkos Foundation and other private donors), which contributed to the collection and analysis of data.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Authors: Hernández-García, M; Bassat, Q; Fumado, V; Rodas, G; Pi, R

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer
• Journal: European Journal of Pediatrics
• Volume: 182
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 2421-2432
• Publication date: 2023-03-14
• DOI: 10.1007/s00431-023-04880-x
• EISSN: 1432-1076
• ISSN: 0340-6199
• Language: English
• Keywords: Demography; Football; Outbreak; Medicine; Club; Family medicine; Gerontology; Internal medicine; Pediatrics; Incidence (geometry); Disease; Cohort study; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); Transmission (telecommunications); Basketball; Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Prospective cohort study