“…‘The NYC Health Department contacted (pediatric
ICUs) in NYC during April 29-May 3, 2020 and identified 15 patients aged 2-15
years who had been hospitalized from April 17-May 1, 2020 with illnesses…’ the
statement said. ‘All patients had subjective or measured fever and more than
half reported rash, abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhea ... More than half of
reported patients required blood pressure support and five required mechanical
ventilation.’
“Of the 15 kids referenced in the release, at least
10 tested positive for the coronavirus. There have been no reported fatalities
so far. The news of this rare syndrome adds to the list of outstanding
questions about how the
coronavirus impacts children. Kids have been largely spared from the
most severe effects of COVID-19, but it's unclear why.
“To answer this question and others, the National
Institutes of Health are conducting a study of 6,000 people from 2,000 American
families. Participants, including children, will receive a nasal
swab every two weeks to see if they're positive and can pass it to others. ‘It's
quite unusual for respiratory viruses to spare young children like this,’ Dr.
Tina Hartert, who's leading the study, previously told
TODAY. ‘Do they transmit infection as effectively as we see ... in
adult populations? That's definitely going to contribute to us having knowledge
about whether we should reopen schools (and) summer camps.’
“While doctors say most children with the
coronavirus are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, it's important to
note that they're not ‘completely safe,’ NBC medical
correspondent Dr. John Torres told TODAY's Hoda Kotb. ‘We don't know
... how many (children) are actually affected, how serious they are, what kind
of outcomes they have.’ He added that at this stage experts think kids are
probably just or almost as contagious as adults.
“If your child experiences the symptoms of
pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, Torres suggests asking
your health care provider if it's necessary to take your child to the hospital.
If the answer is yes, be sure to address the condition with the doctor at the
hospital. ‘It's so new that not everybody might've heard of it at this point,’
Torres added.”
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“There are cases in Chicago of a mysterious illness impacting children that may be connected to COVID-19. The symptoms are very similar to toxic shock syndrome or Kawasaki disease, a rare sickness that involves inflammation of blood vessels.
ReplyDelete“While they may carry the virus, most children have not shown any symptoms of the novel coronavirus. However, there are kids in hospitals, including here in the Chicago area, being treated for a mysterious inflammatory disease that may be linked to COVID-19.
“‘These kids are testing negative with the nasal swab, but they are testing positive for antibodies in the bloodstream, which shows they had past infection, but their parents may not have known that,’ said Dr. Frank Belmonte, Chief Medical Officer at Advocate Children's Hospital.
“Advocate Children's Hospital is treating one patient with the syndrome. Dr. Belmonte said in known cases elsewhere, symptoms show up weeks after the coronavirus peaked.
“Symptoms include abdominal pain, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, red eyes and swollen lymph nodes. ‘These children are presenting extremely ill,’ said Dr. Anne Rowley, an infectious disease specialist at Lurie Children's Hospital. ‘A parent is not going to miss this. This is a very ill child.’
“Dr. Rowley said the symptoms of this mysterious inflammatory syndrome are similar to Kawasaki disease. ‘At our hospital, Lurie Children's, we have one newly-diagnosed child with Kawasaki each week,’ she said.
“But, Dr. Rowley said children with this new syndrome are not experiencing inflammation of the coronary arteries, something that is a specific symptom of Kawasaki disease. That's why Rowley also believes the syndrome may be COVID-related. ‘While kids are getting very sick, the inflammatory syndrome has been treatable,’ Dr. Rowley said” (ABC).
"In New York, health authorities are investigating the deaths of at least three children, and a possible 85 cases of severe illness in children, believed to be brought on by the coronavirus. New York is also notifying health authorities in other states of the cases. This is Governor Andrew Cuomo.
ReplyDelete"Gov. Andrew Cuomo: 'It’s symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease, what they call Kawasaki disease, with toxic shock-like syndrome. This does not present as a normal COVID case. COVID cases tend to be respiratory. This presents as an inflammation of the blood vessels, sometimes inflammation of the heart. It’s possible that these cases were coming in and were not diagnosed as related to COVID, because they don’t appear as COVID.'
"New York remains the hardest-hit state in the U.S., reporting over 340,000 cases and over 26,000 deaths" (Democracy Now).