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Up to 100 children in the UK have been affected by a rare inflammatory disease related to the coronavirus, doctors say.
Some needed intensive care while others recovered quickly, but cases are extremely rare.
In April, NHS doctors were told to watch for a rare but dangerous reaction in children.
This was triggered by eight children who became ill in London, including a 14-year-old boy who died.
Doctors said the eight children had similar symptoms when they were admitted to London’s Evelina Children’s Hospital, including high fever, rash, red eyes, swelling and general pain.
Most of the children did not have significant lung or respiratory problems, although seven were placed on a ventilator to help improve heart and circulation problems.
Doctors describe it as a “new phenomenon” similar to Kawasaki disease shock syndrome, a rare condition that primarily affects children under the age of five. Symptoms include a rash, swollen glands in the neck, and dry, chapped lips.
But this new syndrome also affects older children up to 16 years old, and a minority experiences serious complications.
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Dr. Liz Whittaker, clinical professor of pediatric infectious diseases and immunology at Imperial College London, said the fact that the syndrome occurred in the midst of a pandemic suggests that the two are related.
“You have the Covid-19 peak, and then, three or four weeks later, we are seeing a peak in this new phenomenon that makes us think it is a post-infectious phenomenon,” he said.
This means that it is likely something to do with antibody buildup after infection.
‘Exceptionally rare’
Professor Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Children’s Health, said that the majority of children who have had the condition have responded to treatment and are improving and are beginning to return home.
The syndrome is “exceptionally rare,” he said.
“This should not prevent parents from letting their children out of the confinement,” added Professor Viner.
He said that understanding more about inflammatory disease “could explain why some children become seriously ill with Covid-19, while most are unaffected or asymptomatic.”
Children are believed to account for only 1-2% of all cases of coronavirus infection, representing less than 500 hospital admissions.
Michael Levin, professor of pediatrics and international child health at Imperial, explained that most children tested negative for the coronavirus, but tested positive for antibodies.
“So we really think that the biology of the disease somehow involves an unusual immune response to the virus,” he said.
However, Professor Levin said there was “a great deal of information” about the reaction, which was only known for two to three weeks.
Children appear to be affected for up to six weeks after being infected with the virus, which could explain the onset of the new syndrome several weeks after the peak of cases in the UK.
There have been similar cases in the United States, Spain, Italy, France, and the Netherlands.
Child health experts in the UK say it may not be something that only affects children.
They are now working with researchers in the US. USA And across Europe for more information on what they have called Pediatric Multisystemic Inflammatory Syndrome or (PIMS-TS).
US officials investigating the link
At least 15 U.S. states are also investigating the rare condition, according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Of 82 diagnosed cases of inflammatory syndrome in New York, 53 children tested positive or had antibodies to Covid-19.
California, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts are among the other states with cases of the syndrome.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in the US USA They will release an updated and alert definition of the syndrome to healthcare providers this week.
