New Disease Appearing In Children Amid COVID-19 — What To Know About Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

“In April, clinicians in the United Kingdom noticed that some children without any previous health problems were developing a systemic inflammatory disease,” says Thayil. “The United States, particularly New York City, began to see it in early May. Children present with a fever and have other symptoms like cough or difficulty breathing, conjunctivitis, rash, diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting or confusion. They could also have low blood pressure and the syndrome would proceed to multiorgan involvement. This means that their heart, kidneys, skin, brain, gastrointestinal system were being affected.”

Children who have developed MISC-C have either previously had COVID-19 or recently infected. These symptoms are similar to other diseases such as Kawasaki's syndrome (a disease of the blood vessels which affect children under the age of 5) and Toxic Shock Syndrome (infection affecting multiple organs in the body which causes it to shut down). In order to find out of your child has MIS-C, it’s important to contact your doctor as soon as symptoms appear.

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What Is MIS-C?

The Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has defined MIS-C through three main points.

• Person 21 years old or younger presenting symptoms of MIS-C as well as evidence of inflammation, hospital visits, and two or more organs affected by disease
• There is no possible other diagnosis besides MIS-C
• The person has tested positive for either past or current COVID-19 infection or exposure within four weeks before symptoms appeared

How To Recognize Symptoms of MIS-C

According to Thayil, MIS-C presented itself in healthy patients, but pediatric cancer patients may be at risk of developing the infection too. For children undergoing chemotherapy, it’s important doctors monitor any infectious symptoms during treatment. Thayil says the main symptoms to look for include: a fever higher than 100.4 degrees, Loss of appetite caused by nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, difficulty breathing, rashes on the hands, feet, and mouth, red eyes, extreme fatigue, and problems urinating.

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While MIS-C has presented itself among children during COVID-19, Thayil assures the SurvivorNet community that these symptoms don’t immediately represent a diagnosis. However, in order to properly help treat the disease, it’s important to be open with your doctors about symptoms and be examined as soon as possible. An early diagnosis often paves the way for the best treatment options.

“It does not mean every child will develop it, and most children will remain healthy aside from the usual colds and stomach bugs, [but] it is important that we are informed, aware and on the lookout for MIS-C,” Thayil says. “As with COVID-19 in adults, early symptom awareness, examination, diagnosis and treatment can set a more decisive path for our children.”

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