In the US state of New York, a mysterious illness is increasing in children, which doctors link to the coronavirus. In about 100 cases in the state, children had similar symptoms: fever, rashes, or even shortness of breath.
There have already been 52 confirmed cases in New York City, and a total of two children and a teenager have died from it in New York State. Politicians are alarmed.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has mandated hospitals to prioritize Covid-19 tests for children with these symptoms. “We lag behind the virus from the start and even now, with falling numbers, the virus still surprises us”, Cuomo is quoted in a statement.
“At first we thought Covid-19 was not affecting children and now we have to deal with this disturbing issue where we see around 100 cases of inflammatory disease in children that appears to be caused by the virus.”
Connection with Corona still unclear
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In New York City, in addition to the 52 confirmed cases, there are ten other possible cases of the disease in children – 25 affected children had the coronavirus, 22 had Covid-19 antibodies. “It’s sobering. It’s just plain scary,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday.
The majority of children recover completely from infection. The connection to an infection with the coronavirus has not yet been proven.
Also in the UK children with similar symptoms
As early as late April, children in the UK had been hospitalized with similar symptoms – fever, low blood pressure and a rash. Here too, many of them had tested positive for Covid-19 and here too the symptoms were similar to Kawasaki syndrome.
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Covid-19, as much is now known, is more than just a lung disease. Study results show that strokes, pulmonary embolisms and severe vascular inflammation can also be triggered by the virus. Vascular cells can also be affected, which, according to current studies, are responsible for around a quarter of fatal infections.
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