Trends in the numbers of SARS-CoV-2 infections among students: a prospective cohort study comparing students in sports boarding schools with students in day schools during early COVID-19 pandemic

Friedrich Barsch; Vera Peters; Oliver Morath; Oliver Krumnau; Philipp Maier; Daniela Huzly; Stephan Prettin; Peter Deibert

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1223748

Trends in the numbers of SARS-CoV-2 infections among students: a prospective cohort study comparing students in sports boarding schools with students in day schools during early COVID-19 pandemic

Front Public Health. 2023 Nov 14:11:1223748. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1223748. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Friedrich Barsch^#¹, Vera Peters^#¹, Oliver Morath¹, Oliver Krumnau¹, Philipp Maier¹, Daniela Huzly², Stephan Prettin¹, Peter Deibert¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Medical Center University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Exercise and Occupational Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
² Freiburg University Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Virology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: During the first months of the COVID pandemic it emerged that facilities where people gather or live together in cohorts, such as nursing homes or schools, were particularly at high risk for becoming hotspots of virus transmission. German political and health institutions responded with far-reaching interventions and preventive strategies to protect the population from infection with SARS-CoV-2. In this context, it remains unclear whether boarding schools for sports particularly pose a risk of infection to their residents.

Methods: In a single-center prospective cohort study, numbers of SARS-CoV-2 infections of students in sports boarding schools (n = 11) vs. students attending regular day schools (n = 22) in the region Freiburg/Hochschwarzwald in Germany were investigated over a period from October 2020 to January 2021 via regular virus and antibody screening (German Clinical Trials Register; Study ID: DRKS00021909). In addition, individual and behavioral risk factors for infection were stratified via questionnaire, which provide an indication of cohort specific risk factors for infection and the success of the implementation of hygiene concepts, as well as other infection prevention strategies, within the respective facilities.

Results: Regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection numbers, the screening detected no significant group difference between sports boarding schools vs. day schools.

Discussion: The study results provide indications that sports boarding schools did not pose an increased risk of infection, assuming that the facilities prevent virus transmissions with appropriate preventive strategies and hygiene measures. In future pandemic scenarios larger-scale and multicenter studies are necessary to achieve more comprehensive epidemiological data in this field.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; athletes; prevention; schools; sports; students.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Pandemics / prevention & control
Prospective Studies
SARS-CoV-2
Schools
Students

Grants and funding

The study was financially supported by funds from the Landessportverband Baden-Württemberg e.V. (Fritz-Walter-Weg 19, 70372 Stuttgart, Germany). The funding was used exclusively to cover the costs for laboratory analyses of the biosamples. The funder (Landessportbund Baden-Würrttemberg e.V.) had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.