Indian doctors warn of rare inflammatory disease linked to coronavirus in children

Parents should monitor children for symptoms of a rare disease but potentially fatal inflammatory condition several weeks after coronavirus infection, say doctors in India.

Children who have faced an asymptomatic course of COVID-19 are still at risk of degenerating into multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) approximately four to six weeks after infection. Reports have surfaced in India of children admitted to hospital, short of breath with falling blood pressure, and testing positive for COVID-19 antibodies, signaling past infection.

“I would be worried about this disease. We just don’t know how deep this problem is. It is worrying that we still don’t have data on the burden of this disease in India,” Dr SP Kalantri, director medical from Kasturba hospital, said, by BBC.

HALF OF CHILDREN WITH CORONAVIRUS-RELATED MIS-C HAVE NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTMS

The true toll of MIS-C cases in India is unknown as the country moves away from a deadly second wave that has ravaged the healthcare system. The first wave resulted in at least 2,000 cases of MIS-C, News18 reported, citing data from the ICU chapter of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr Aarti Kinikar, a pediatrician working in Pune, located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, told the BBC 30 such cases since April, of which 13 remain in hospital. Most suffered from heart inflammation or myocarditis.

“The numbers are too many after the second wave,” Kinikar said.

RARE COVID-19-RELATED SYNDROME IN CHILDREN POSSIBLE ALSO IN ADULTS, CASE REPORT NOTES

By way of comparison, as of May 3, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 35 deaths and 3,742 cases of MIS-C, half of which were in children aged 5 to 13 years. The agency advises parents to contact a health care provider promptly if children have symptoms such as fever and stomach pain, bloodshot eyes, chest tightness / pain, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, low blood pressure. blood pressure, neck pain, rash and vomiting. Symptoms requiring immediate emergency care include difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, inability to wake up or stay awake, and depending on skin tone, pale, gray or blue skin. , lips or nails.