Transcript
US doctors say they may have seen a possible complication of coronavirus infection in a young child: a rare inflammatory condition called Kawasaki disease.
It is a rare childhood illness that causes inflammation in the arteries and can limit blood flow in the heart.
According to UK’s National Health Service symptoms include high temperature, rash, swollen glands in the neck, dry cracked lips, red fingers or toes and red eyes.
A team at Stanford Children’s Hospital said they had seen a case in a six-month-old girl who was admitted to the hospital with Kawasaki disease and later also diagnosed with coronavirus.
The disease is usually treatable and most children recover without serious problems but it can be deadly.
Doctor say they have also seen some reports in the UK, Spain and Italy.
On Sunday the Paediatric Intensive Care Society (PICS) UK tweeted an “urgent alert” warning about a rising number of children with severe COVID-19 having Kawasaki disease in the country.
PICS said in the statement abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms are also commonly seen features in children with the disease.
The link between Kawasaki disease and COVID-19 is unclear but health care professionals say that the risk of children becoming severely ill with the virus remains low.
Posted – 4.29.20