Over 100 children around the world are now infected with a so-called post-infectious Coronavirus disease. This is an illness found on kids with a rare inflammatory disease that was said to be linked to COVID-19. Here are the things you should know regarding its symptoms and relation to another rare children's disease called Kawasaki disease.
Can children contract Coronavirus? Experts say absolutely!
It was earlier known that children have a higher tolerance than adults when it comes to acquiring Coronavirus. Compared to adults, only a small number of children were found with the viral disease.
Most of the children with positive viruses have underlying medical conditions, making them more prone to the disease.
"We found the severity of illness in infants and children with COVID-19 to be far less than that documented in adults, with most PICUs [Pediatric Intensive Care Units) across North America reporting no children admitted with this disease during the study period. Of the critically ill children with COVID-19, more than 80% had a significant long-term underlying medical condition," the study about pediatric patients in North America.
However, a new disease linked with Coronavirus is now making parents scared for the lives of their children. According to BBC, up to 100 children in the United Kingdom and the United States are now under the intensive care unit after doctors found a rare inflammatory disease causing the children to experience a high fever, rash, red eyes, swelling, and general pain.
To clarify, the disease is not the famous Kawasaki-- wherein kids experience rash, swollen glands in the neck and dry and cracked lips-- but has its similarities. Doctors classify what they found as 'new phenomenon' mysteriously appearing in the middle of the pandemic.
"You've got the Covid-19 peak, and then three or four weeks later we're seeing a peak in this new phenomenon which makes us think that it's a post-infectious phenomenon," said. Dr. Liz Whittaker, clinical lecturer in pediatric infectious diseases and immunology, at Imperial College London.
New York experiences 'new syndrome' affecting children
Before the United Kingdom released a statement regarding this matter, the state of New York in the U.S. already investigated the said disease.
"When we first started with this virus, we were told children are not affected, which was a great sigh of relief. But now we're finding out that may not be 100% accurate because we're seeing cases where children who may have been infected with the COVID virus show symptoms of an inflammatory disease like the Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome," said New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
Michael Levin, professor of pediatrics and international child health at Imperial, explains that children do not show immediate response once infected with the virus. This may be the reason why they contract new diseases along the way.
