HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) – The growing number of children carrying the coronavirus is causing concern due to a rare condition seen in some children who have contracted the virus.
The rare condition, called Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome, affects the inflammatory response in children, which can be fatal.
“We have admitted six patients to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital with multi-system inflammatory childhood syndrome,” said Drs. Ronald Ford, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer. “This is an inflammatory process that develops somewhere in three to six weeks after COVID-19 infection in a child. A small percentage of children will have this rather severe disease with multiple systems, where they often develop high fever, GI symptoms, sometimes brain syndrome. ”
Although symptoms vary from case to case, some include persistent fever exceeding 100 F, rash, abdominal pain, vomiting, swelling of hands and feet, and rapid heartbeat.
A 9-year-old boy in New York City and a girl in Louisiana were diagnosed with the syndrome and were later admitted to hospital. The Louisiana girl suffered a heart attack as a result of contracting the syndrome.
“I really couldn’t do anything because I was in a lot of pain,” the girl said.
Other symptoms could include decreased appetite, red or red eyes, headache, a shock-like state, low blood pressure, disorientation and irritability.
Based on the numbers provided by the state, officials said the number of COVID-19 cases in Florida is equal to what appeared to be a spike on Wednesday. Officials said the spike was due to a backlog of cases that were two months back that were reported Wednesday.
In the last 24 hours, Miami-Dade County added 1,713 cases, Broward added 661 new cases and Monroe County added 21 new cases of the virus.
Doctors said that children may suffer from any of the mentioned symptoms, and if they experience these symptoms, they should seek medical help as soon as possible.
“Some of these children, because they are so sick, need intensive care,” Ford said. “We also want to get the message out to community health care providers. We may see children, whether it be pediatricians or GPs in their offices or doctors in emergency care or emergency departments, to be on the lookout here. ‘
Every child diagnosed with the syndrome at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.
Copyright 2020 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
