As shown by a UK study, coronavirus, manifests itself in the form of a deadly new inflammatory syndrome in some children. A study of eight cases of children who are admitted to ICU with this syndrome showed that all tested positive for viral antibodies, showing that they have previously been Covid-19, often without symptoms.
British health Minister Matt Hancock said that he was “very concerned” about the reports of children struggling with serious symptoms that can have a relationship with a coronavirus.
last week, the world health organization has asked its global network of clinicians to be on the lookout for a rare phenomenon, which causes inflammation of toxic shock.
the warning was made after British doctors noticed syndrome, symptoms of which are similar to Kawasaki disease (manifested by fever, changes in the mucous membranes, skin lesions of the coronary and other visceral arteries with the possible formation of aneurysms, thrombosis and discontinuities of the vascular wall) that occur in some hospitalized children who were also infected with Covid-19.
on Wednesday In medical journal the Lancet published the report of the South Thames Retrieval Service, providing support for pediatric intensive care in South-East England. According to the report, eight children with the above syndrome, also previously contracted the coronavirus, often without any symptoms.
the Object of the study was “unprecedented cluster of eight children” who were hospitalized in April after the onset of their symptoms of toxic shock syndrome.
According to the study, in the case of four of these children know the effects of coronavirus in the family, and observed all eight of the children tested positive for antibodies to Covid-19.
All of these children aged 4 to 14 years (five of them boys) were held in intensive care in a London children’s hospital Evelina London Children’s Hospital. Six of the patients are of African-Caribbean origin.
One of the patients, a boy aged 14 years, died of a stroke when he was on artificial life support, although other young patients have since discharged from the hospital.
in all cases children had similar symptoms: high fever up to 40 degrees, rash, conjunctivitis, and common aches with significant gastrointestinal symptoms.
the authors of the study suggested that the clinical picture is a new phenomenon, manifested in the form giperosmoljarnaja syndrome involving many organs, similar to the syndrome of shock in Kawasaki disease.
Commenting on this study for publication Daily Mail, a virologist from the University of Kent Dr Jeremy Rossman described it as “very exciting”.
However, for example, Emeritus Professor infectious diseases Medical school Brighton and Sussex John Cohen believes that it is still too early to draw conclusions about the relationship between this syndrome and Covid-19.
“during the week, while this report was in peer review, the same team studied 12 patients, says Professor Cohen. All these patients were negative for the Covid-19, but 10 of the 20 patients in total tested positive for antibodies, which suggests that they were exposed to after some time.”
According to the Professor, it naturally raises suspicion about the “new” clinical syndrome in children associated with the coronavirus: “This suspicion is confirmed by the fact that six of the eight were of African-Caribbean origin, five were boys and seven of the eight were clinically obese patients. These three characteristics correspond to several alleged risk factors for coronavirus infection”.
However, insists Professor Cohen, some caution is needed to conclude that this “pediatric Covid”. In particular, he pointed out, there are many factors that can cause toxic shock syndrome. And it is possible that this case was not caused by the coronavirus, and as a result of any other infectious or non-infectious stimulus.
whatever it was, consultant at children’s hospital of Southampton Dr. Sanjay Patel in comments to the Daily Mail recommends not to panic: “This is a very rare condition, and parents should not worry. It is unlikely that the child will get sick Covid-19, and even more unlikely that the child will get sick and this disease.”
