The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute studies families with coronavirus to find out why their children were immune

Victorian couple Leila Sawenko and Tony Maguire were shocked when they contracted COVID-19 after traveling interstate for their friends’ wedding in March of this year.

Both initially felt fine before developing mild symptoms.

“It was only a week later, after our return from Sydney, that we started talking [like we had a] hangover meets jet lag – very foggy head and a little more lethargic than normal, “said Ms. Sawenko.

Back home, they were sure they would pass the virus on to their three young children, ages six, seven and nine.

Surprisingly, the test results came back negative for all children.

“It was astounding because they had spent a week and a half with us while we were COVID positive,” said Ms. Sawenko.

“The boys had runny noses and my youngest daughter, who had been very close to us since we returned from Sydney – sleeping in bed with us, constant cuddling – was completely asymptomatic.

“All along it was an image of health.”

The hospital was so surprised with the results, they re-examined the children twice and sent the results to two different labs, but all of the tests came back negative.

This sparked the curiosity of doctors and scientists from the Royal Children’s Hospital of Melbourne and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), who asked the family to be part of a study.

What experts have discovered by closely examining the family’s test results sheds new light on why children may not become seriously ill with COVID-19, even if they are in close contact with someone who has it.

Children’s immune response to coronavirus

Melanie Neeland from MCRI found that the three Melbourne children had COVID-19 antibodies that were very similar to their parents.

This meant that although the children were infected with the coronavirus, they were able to activate an immune response that was “highly effective” in stopping the virus from replicating.

“This is one of the first reports that actually shows an immune response in children who have been exposed to the virus in their family,” said Dr. Neeland.

He described it as “really exciting” because it showed that children could “turn on” their immune systems to prevent the virus from taking hold and multiplying.

Ms. Sawenko said it was a relief to hear that her children were able to fight the virus.

“Basically, they summed it up by saying that probably what’s happening to the children is that they get the virus but their antibodies are so efficient at fighting it that the virus was cleared before it turned into COVID and before you can get rid of COVID,” he said. .

“You could only see the look on the doctors’ faces. They were completely stunned and really excited to think there was this discovery.”

Dr Neeland said the findings mean there may be something in the children’s immune systems that protected them from infection when they were exposed to the coronavirus.

“And this is important to investigate in larger studies involving more families and more children,” he said.

Most children who contract COVID-19 contract it from family contacts and have mild symptoms.

The researchers took blood, saliva, nasal and pharyngeal samples from the whole family every two to three days, an experience the children feared.

“It was a great ordeal to be constantly tested – the throat and nasal swabs were definitely something the kids didn’t like,” Maguire said.