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The World Health Organization is investigating whether the coronavirus causes some children to develop a rare inflammatory disease, WHO officials said on Wednesday.
Health officials in the UK warned doctors over the weekend that Covid-19 could be causing a rare inflammatory condition in children. The British Pediatric Intensive Care Society said Monday that the National Health Service alerted a small number of critically ill children with “an unusual clinical picture.”
The society noted that many, but not all, of the children with symptoms of the new inflammatory disease had been diagnosed with Covid-19. The condition was compared to toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease.
“We are aware of this report coming out of the UK about a small number of cases among children with this inflammatory response,” WHO Chief Scientist at Covid-19, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, said on Wednesday. “We are seeing this with our clinical network.”
Toxic shock syndrome is a rare and life-threatening condition caused by bacteria that enter the body and release harmful toxins. Symptoms include a high temperature, a sunburn-like rash, and flu-like symptoms such as headache and sore throat.
Kawasaki disease causes inflammation of the heart’s blood vessels and mainly affects children under the age of 5, according to the UK NHS. Symptoms include a rash, swollen glands in the neck, dry or chapped lips, and red fingers or toes. The Mayo Clinic says it is generally treatable.
It’s unclear what the relationship is between Covid-19 and inflammatory conditions, but Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, told reporters on Monday that it is “entirely plausible” that Covid-19 causes the disease.
“There are some recent rare descriptions of children in some European countries who have had this inflammatory syndrome, which is similar to Kawasaki syndrome,” said Van Kerkhove. “But it seems to be very rare.”
WHO has asked its global network of doctors to be “on alert” for such cases worldwide. Coronavirus, which is primarily a respiratory disease, is affecting more than just the lungs, as first thought, said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO emergency program.
“Obviously it is causing inflammation and it attacks other tissues besides lung tissue,” he said. “We are in a situation where doctors are looking at what those other effects of having this coronavirus infection are.”
It is “very important” that the researchers further analyze these reports to better understand the nature of the virus and the disease it causes, Ryan said. He added that the condition is still very rare.
“Kawasaki syndrome is a syndrome that has been around for a long time,” he said. “It is a rare condition. It happens. It usually resolves on its own.”
British Health Minister Matt Hancock told UK radio station LBC on Tuesday that he was “very concerned” about recent reports of children presenting with the new condition. However, the WHO emphasized that the condition appears to be rare.
“We still don’t know” if it’s fatal, Hancock said. “It is a new disease that we believe may be caused by the Covid-19 virus; we are not 100% sure, because some of the people who contracted it did not test positive, so we are doing a lot of research now.” , but it is something that worries us. Although it is very significant for children who suffer from it, the number of cases is small. “
– CNBC’s Chloe taylor contributed to this report.
