Doctors from different countries have reported new cases of rare, but potentially fatal dangerous inflammatory syndrome in children, which appears to be associated with coronavirus infections.
At least six countries have identified nearly 100 cases of unusual illness, reports the Guardian. Currently, doctors from UK, USA, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland carried out the study of this disease.
the First cases were revealed this week when the British national health service (NHS) has issued a warning for pediatricians about children admitted to intensive care units with a mix of toxic shock and a condition known as Kawasaki disease (inflammatory disease that affects the blood vessels, heart and other organs). At the moment in the UK injured 19 children and none of them, fortunately, not dead.
the Minister of health of France, Olivier Veran said Wednesday that the country is aware of more than 10 children with inflammation in the heart, and although there was not sufficient evidence to establish a connection with the coronavirus, the Minister of health said that these cases perceived “very seriously”.
the Minister Veran told news radio Franceinfo that received a warning from Paris on “about 15 children of all ages”, adding that similar cases have been reported in Spain, Italy and Switzerland. He listed such symptoms as fever, digestive problems and vascular inflammation.
At least three children in the U.S. ages six months to eight years old are being treated for the same condition. Mark Gorelik, a specialist in the treatment of patients at the Medical center of Columbia University in new York, said that all had fever and inflammation of the heart and intestines. “Now we are in the beginning trying to understand what it means”, – he told Reuters.
mark Gorelik believes that this is not Kawasaki’s disease and a similar disease, which has a common cause (namely the infectious agent that causes an immune response).
Many of the children receiving treatment from a new syndrome, tested positive for the coronavirus, but some of them don’t. This may mean that the syndrome is not associated with a coronavirus or that the test missed the infection.
Some doctors suspect that the syndrome is “post-infectious inflammatory response” when the immune system excessively responds to the infection. This suggests that in some children the disease has two phases – primary infection and secondary immune response that occurs later.
the First known cases in the UK appeared three or four weeks ago, but now the doctors are prosviewed medical records of children in intensive care units, related to the beginning of this year to verify whether it was missed earlier cases.
Dr. Nazim Pathan, consultant in pediatric intensive care unit in Cambridge, said that the number of children admitted to intensive care with Covid-19, was relatively low, but some of them had toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease. “These children have been severe and prolonged inflammatory response to infection Covid-19, and they did not have serious diseases of the lungs, unlike most cases in adults”, – quotes the doctor the Guardian.
“Although this is a developing situation, it is clear that these symptoms are reported only in a few cases, says Dr. Pathan. An important message is that if parents are worried about the health of their children, they should go to the doctor”.
a New syndrome which has not yet received special names, became one of the main topics in discussion between leading physicians on the newsgroups Covid-19 in children, organized on Tuesday by the world health organization.
