COVID-19 and MIS-C: What Parents Need to Know
Most affected children have had current or recent coronavirus infections, the CDC said.
LOS ANGELES – A report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that nearly 600 children in the United States were hospitalized with a rare inflammatory syndrome associated with the new coronavirus during the pandemic.
The CDC had issued warnings in May to health care providers and parents about multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, such as MIS-C.
The CDC report covers diseases that started from mid-February to mid-July. Forty states reported cases.
The agency found that since July 29, a total of 570 pediatric patients had been diagnosed with MIS-C, according to state health departments nationwide. The CDC also found that all MIS-C patients had positive tests for the coronavirus, and 10 died.
According to the CDC, MIS-C is a condition that causes various parts of the human body to form, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs.
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While symptoms of MIS-C may vary from case to case, they may include persistent fever, rash, conjunctivitis, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, swollen lymph nodes in the neck, swollen hands and feet, chapped lips and a tongue that the reader then normally, according to Harvard Health, a blog of Harvard Medical School.
“We do not yet know what causes MIS-C. However, many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or have been around one with COVID-19, “said the CDC.
The CDC said the inflammatory condition was first reported in the UK as late as April, and on May 12, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said 100 children in the city were diagnosed with MIS-C. Of the 100 tests, 55 tested positive for COVID-19 if they had antibodies.
“The underlying problem that results in MIS-C appears to be a dysfunction of the immune system,” said Dr. Ermias Belay, who leads the CDC team looking for MIS-C cases.
Some children with the syndrome have symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease, another rare childhood condition that can cause swelling and heart problems.
The immune system traps in overdrive when it sees the virus, and contains chemicals that can damage various organs, Belay said.
The CDC report found that 13% of children with the condition were White, while more than 40% were Hispanic and 33% Black. Overall, about half of American children are White, about 25% Hispanic and about 14% are Black, according to population estimates.
Scientists are still learning about the condition. Experts say genetics has nothing to do with why some racial and ethnic groups are more likely to become seriously ill from the novel coronavirus than die. But it’s not yet clear if genetics plays a role in childhood inflammation, according to Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, who oversees epidemic prevention for a not-for-profit data and advocacy organization called Vital Strategies, and Belay.
FILE – A boy gets a free COVID-19 test at a mobile clinic in St. Louis. John’s Well Child & Family Center set up outside Walker Temple AME Church in South Los Angeles amid the coronavirus pandemic on July 15, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images)
Health experts say that although the condition remains relatively rare, it is serious. Otherwise there should be waiting and reporting any symptoms to a doctor – especially if children have a prolonged fever that lasts more than a few days.
“Otherwise, people really should not be afraid to take their children to their pediatrician if they are afraid they are sick,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
‘Of course, they also have to make sure they keep up with their good childcare and their faxes. The diseases we prevent with vaccines are in fact much more severe in children than COVID-19, so we want to make sure that children protect against those diseases. ”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
