With household transmission of the novel coronavirus being a common occurrence, a federal health agency said last month, a new meta-analysis found that there is one household member, in particular, who is most likely to give you COVID-19: Your spouse. In a meta-analysis of 54 studies that involved a total of more than 77,700 participants across 20 countries, researchers concluded that an estimated 37.8% of COVID-19 patients passed the virus to their spouses. “Infection risk was highest for spouses, followed by non-spouse family members and other relatives, which were all higher than other contacts,” the researchers found. An estimated 16.8% of those who tested positive for the novel virus later gave the disease to a child they live with, per the review, which was published on Monday in JAMA Network Open. “The findings of this study suggest that given that individuals with suspected or confirmed infections are being referred to isolate at home, households will continue to be a significant venue for transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” the authors of the meta-analysis concluded.

Source: Fox News December 15, 2020 21:10 UTC