Washington –
US researchers have published two more in-depth studies on a syndrome associated with coronavirus infections in children and adolescents.
The studies published on Monday in the journal “New England Journal of Medicine” shed light on the so-called pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome, abbreviated MIS-C.
Novel childhood disease after corona infection: around 1000 cases worldwide
The scientists evaluated the medical records of almost 300 children and young people under the age of 21, who were treated in the United States between March and May.
Read more here: Connection to Corona? 230 children in Europe affected by mysterious illness
Infection with the novel coronavirus had been identified in all or there was an urgent suspicion of such an infection.
The United Kingdom warned of the Sars-CoV-2 syndrome in children in late April, and the CDC, the US health agency, followed in May.
Around 1000 cases of the syndrome have been registered worldwide, as Michael Levin of London’s Imperial College wrote in a commentary on the US studies.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported 230 cases in Europe by May 15. One child in France and one in the UK died of the syndrome.
MIS-C in children: colored ones affected more often than white ones
The US studies now published show that the syndrome only occurs a few weeks after a corona infection.
The study at the national level usually took 25 days; in the New York study, the cases occurred one month after the pandemic peaked in the US metropolis.
As a further result of their investigations, the scientists demonstrated that MIS-C occurs very rarely: Two out of 100,000 people under the age of 21 suffered from it.
As has also been observed in Europe, black children and children with Hispanic or Indian roots suffered from the syndrome more often than white children.
MIS-C according to Corona: Some children develop serious illnesses
The most common symptom is not respiratory problems as with Covid-19: Rather, more than 80 percent of patients suffered from gastrointestinal complaints such as abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting and diarrhea.
Many sufferers also had a rash, especially the children aged four or five.
According to the studies, everyone affected had a fever, often for more than four or five days. Cardiovascular problems occurred in 80 percent of those affected, and eight to nine percent of the children developed an aneurysm on the arteries, i.e. a potentially dangerous dilation of the arteries.
In 80 percent of the cases examined, treatment was carried out in the intensive care unit, 20 percent of the patients were ventilated. The death rate was two percent.
