Covid-19 effect?: 15 children get a mysterious syndrome in New York
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"US doctors say they may have seen a possible complication of coronavirus infection in a young child: a rare inflammatory condition called Kawasaki disease," reported CNN most recently. In its latest report on suspected Kawasaki disease cases in New York, New York Times says that 15 kids were hospitalized in the city due to "multi-system inflammatory syndrome possibly linked to the coronavirus" between April 17 and May 1.
DNA has reported that, out of the 15 hospitalised children, "four tested positive for coronavirus, and the other six who tested negative have coronavirus antibodies, which means that they had been infected with the virus earlier but recovered."
Doctors are yet to confirm that it is Kawasaki syndrome. Only the symptoms come close to the syndrome. And it's not clear whether Covid-19 caused the disease in the 15 children.
What are the symptoms of Kawasaki syndrome? "Symptoms of the syndrome include a high temperature lasting for five days or longer, alongside a rash, swollen glands in the neck, dry cracked lips, red fingers or toes and redness in both eyes," reports wfsb.com.
Not many, however, believe that Covid-19 is behind the syndrome. Dr Alex Berenson says, "The reality is that Kawasaki disease is surprisingly common - 5,500 children under 5 were hospitalized with it in the US in 2009. New York City is almost 3% of the US population, so one would expect about 150 cases based on the 2009 number, ignoring the fact that New York hospitals may have non-New York cases. And Kawasaki disease tends to be seasonal and can break out in communities. Thus 15 cases in 15 days is not a shock, and given how widely Covid-19 has spread in New York, it would be more surprising if a lot of kids DIDN’T have it or antibodies."
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