Coronaviruses are non-segmented positive-stranded RNA viruses with a roughly 30 kb genome.

The majority of coronaviruses cause disease in a specific host species but some have infected

humans by cross-species transmission. This process has led to a number of severe outbreaks of

human disease including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and Middle East

respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2012.



From December 2019 a novel infection "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2"

(SARS-CoV-2) was identified in the Wuhan region of China. The infection was identified as the

causal factor in a growing number of severe cases of pneumonia. This disease was subsequently

named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by World Health Organisation (WHO). SARS-CoV-2 has

been shown to cause severe disease similar to the previous SARS coronavirus from 2003. Severe

disease is associated with pneumonia and damage to vital organs including lung, heart, liver,

and kidney.



Fortunately SARS-CoV-2 appears to cause only mild, or no, symptoms in children.



The social distancing measures in the United Kingdom include the closure of schools and the

cancelling of routine paediatric clinics. These drastic, but necessary, steps are likely to

have a profound effect on the well-being of children.



This study is required to determine what proportion of children have been exposed to

SARS-Cov-2 and how many, if any, have neutralizing antibodies. The findings from this study

could be used to inform public health decisions regarding the re-opening of schools and other

services vital to the well-being of children.