About the Corona Household Study
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The Corona Household Study will investigate the risk of infection, and immunity to, the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) among people living in the same household. The study will give important knowledge on how to prevent infection and protect people from becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 disease.
The study will investigate:
- How the coronavirus is transmitted within a household; How many people become ill, how long it takes for other household members to become infected, and how long infected people are contagious for
- Amongst those who are infected, how many of them develop symptoms and what is the duration and severity of the disease
- Which factors increase the risk of becoming ill from the coronavirus
- What happens to the body's immune system after infection
- How well is the body protected against reinfection with the virus after recovery
- How long individuals shed the virus
The findings will provide important knowledge to a study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Who can participate in the study?
Persons who are aged 12 years or above with a confirmed corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and any of their household members, can participate in the study. Only households that have been contacted by the NIPH following confirmed infection can participate in the study.
What does the study involve?
- Participants will receive home visits by healthcare professionals several times during a two-month period, and then once again after 6 months.
- During the home visits, airway, saliva and blood samples will be taken from household members aged 12 years or above who give their consent. Only saliva swabs will be taken from children under 12 years.
- During the first visit, participants will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about their general health and to keep a simple symptom diary for 28 days.
- Each home visit will take about 20-30 minutes per person in the household
- The samples will be tested as soon as possible to see if the participants have the corona virus infection. Participants will be informed about the test result.
Approval
The Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics has approved the project (REK reference 118354).