An Inflammatory syndrome has begun to stir alarm among doctors in Italy who have noticed a disturbing rise in the number of children suffering from this rare but grave inflammatory syndrome. Coronavirus pandemic is thought to be linked with the syndrome.
Shortly after the corona-virus spread to the area, a new study which was published in the medical journal The Lancet found a rise in the number of cases of the rare syndrome in Italy’s Bergamo province.
Investigations for the syndrome have also begun in the United States where public health practitioners have noted similar observations to those made by doctors in Italy.
Most of the 150 subjects whose cases are being reviewed reside in New York. Suspected cases include the likes of Washington, DC, and 17 other states that could be experiencing the same syndromes.
A condition that is usually observed in children younger than five years, Kawasaki disease is noted to be similar to the syndrome now often referred to as “multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children” Symptoms for the disease include inflammatory conditions in the body including a risk of heart complications.
Experts on disease and infections, however, say that the new syndrome is likely to be different from Kawasaki disease seeing as it includes differing symptoms that are not observed in the disease the syndrome is seen similar to.
The research team at the Hospital Papa Giovanni XXIII in Bergamo, Italy discovered some differences in the groups of patients.
After the emergence of the corona-virus pandemic, children who were admitted displayed chronic symptoms, 60 percent of the 10 reported cases had heart problems while the 19 observed cases before the virus outbreak had only two sufferers of any heart conditions.
50 percent of the new cases had symptoms of Kawasaki disease shock syndrome, which was not observed in any cases before the pandemic began.
There were however some limitations to the study like the patients being only from a specific region in Italy; further research is expected to precisely determine if this pattern would also be observed among larger groups in different parts of the globe.
In London, children hospital doctors are observing and suggesting that the Kawasaki disease may have a link with the exposure these children had to the coronavirus.
Knowledge of this new syndrome has only been significantly acquired in the past few weeks, therefore researchers and health specialists are deeming it vital to better understand it and the link between the two ailments.
There’s much to be expected in the next five or six weeks such as new emerging cases around highly infected areas
On the other hand, experts in Italy and elsewhere have asserted the fact that the patients of the corona-virus rarely affect children and it is more dangerous for adults in comparison. They reassure that only harmless symptoms are observed in coronavirus positive children who have contracted the virus.
Further research and observations on the subject by experts suggest that this multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children seems to be a result from the virus; it is presumably not directly instigated by the virus but is rather a reaction from the patients’ immune system explains Dr. Jeffrey Burns, a critical care specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital.
It appears that coronavirus positive children have immune systems who respond to the virus and in doing so display symptoms of the syndrome.
Seeing as New York experienced the starkest and a major outbreak of the virus, with New Jersey and Boston lining up with the second and third most severe situations, it is no surprise the syndromes first emerged in New York.
Experts believe there will be a rise in cases as the virus begins to affect more people, rare conditions such as the multi-system inflammatory syndrome and the Kawasaki disease as a result of the virus will be more observable because the pandemic will infect a wide majority which will make consequences more so apparent.
