Rare COVID-19 Related Disease Affecting Kids in New York
A rare COVID-19 related disease is affecting kids in New York.
The New York State Department of Health issued an advisory about a serious inflammatory disease affecting children throughout the state.
As of May 5, 64 potential cases of the condition, called "Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with COVID-19", have been reported in children in New York hospitals.
"Thankfully most children with COVID-19 only experience mild symptoms, but in some, a dangerous inflammatory syndrome can develop," said New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker. "While we continue to reduce cases through social distancing, discoveries like this remind us we are still in the middle of our response to this deadly pandemic."
Though most children who get COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms, in the United Kingdom, a possible link has also been reported between pediatric COVID-19 and serious inflammatory disease. The inflammatory syndrome has features which overlap with Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome and may occur days to weeks after acute COVID-19 illness. Symptoms include persistent fever, stomach pain, rash, and even cardiovascular symptoms requiring intensive care.
25 children are at Cohen's Children Hospital in Long Island with Kawasaki-like symptoms, 11 being treated in ICU, according to ABC.
A new study by the National Institutes of Health is focusing on the number of children infected with COVID-19 and how the disease manifests, according to NBC.