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A 14-year-old boy in the UK, who had no underlying health problems, died of a new inflammatory disease related to the coronavirus.
The boy died at London’s Evelina Children’s Hospital, where more than 40 children have been treated for “hyperinflammatory” disease after contracting Covid-19.
Of the first eight children, ages 4 to 14, who were treated, seven required the use of a ventilator, reports Mirror UK.
The 14-year-old boy then tested positive for coronavirus.
The “cluster” of cases was detected in south-east London, centered in the Woolwich and Southwark areas of the capital.
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Parents have been urged not to delay seeking medical help if their child is unwell.
Doctors who discovered the disease at Evelina London Children’s Hospital say it is similar to Kawasaki disease, a rare inflammatory disease that primarily affects children under the age of five.
It can cause high temperatures, swelling, and a red rash, and requires immediate hospital treatment.
Hospitals across the country have been alerted to what experts describe as a “new phenomenon” related to the coronavirus.
Dr. Sara Hanna, Evelina’s medical director, said: “We probably saw the first case in mid-March.
“We had an admitted child with something very much like Kawasaki, a bit like something we call toxic shock syndrome.
“In the past two weeks, we have just seen this group of children where some of them are very much like Kawasaki.
“They have a high, persistent fever, red eyes, a rash, swelling of the hands and feet.”
Doctors said blood tests did not test positive for the virus in children, but that other indicators were “remarkably similar” to those seen in adults with Covid-19.
Antibodies indicating Covid-19 recovery were later found in approximately half of the children.
And Dr. Hanna described the timing of the disease outbreak as “suspicious.”
An article in the medical journal The Lancet revealed that the first eight cases of the disease in Evelina involved children ages 4 to 14, and seven required fans.
Two tested positive for coronavirus, including the 14-year-old who died, and four of the eight came from homes with a family member suspected or confirmed to have had the virus.
Some children had severe abdominal pain and had undergone operations on suspicion of appendicitis.
Others were in “shock” with very low blood pressure.
Several children are still recovering in hospital and some have been released, but similar cases have also been reported north of the river at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Dr. Hanna said it was vital for children to wash their hands regularly and urged parents not to delay seeking medical help if a child becomes ill.
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