Children’s bodies faster and better in fighting Omicron than adults

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The British study compared infection in adults and youngsters across different organs. University College London found children more rapidly deploy interferons, which tell nearby cells to boost their defences to a threat. These proteins will typically activate B and T cells, which kill infected cells and prevent a virus or bacteria from spreading. A less rapid adult response means the virus can reach parts of the body where the infection is harder to control.

That in turn can lead to a dangerous over-reaction by the immune system. Dr Masahiro Yoshida said: “Because Sars-CoV-2 is a new virus, it isn’t something that the adaptive immune system of adults has learned to respond to.The innate immune system of children is more flexible and better able to respond to new threats.”

Part of the Human Cell Atlas project, the findings may help to predict personal risk.A nasal swab in newly infected adults could be used to identify candidates for pre-emptive monoclonal antibody injections. Other research indicates inhalation of interferons as a therapy.

UCL’s study looked at airway and blood samples from 19 child and 18 adult Covid patients, plus control samples from healthy people. The research with the Wellcome Sanger Institute appears in journal Nature.

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