(Updated: 345 p.m.) The N.Y. State Department of Health is investigating several cases of severe illness in children and child deaths that may be related to COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday.
There have been 73 reported cases in New York where children are experiencing symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome, possibly due to COVID-19, the governor said.
The governor today announced the deaths of three children from this disease in New York: a 5-year-old New York City boy, a 7-year-old in Westchester County and a teenager in Suffolk County.
“The CDC has asked New York to develop a national criteria for this illness, and the state is also working with the NY Genome Center and Rockefeller University to conduct a study to help us better understand it,” Cuomo said in a statement this afternoon. “This is a frightening new development, but rest assured we are doing everything we can to learn more and keep parents informed.”
The State Department of Health has issued an advisory about this serious inflammatory disease, called “Pediatric Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome Associated with COVID-19,” to inform health care providers of the condition, as well as to provide guidance for testing and reporting.
Health care providers, including hospitals, are required to report to the Department of Health all cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome potentially associated with COVID-19 in those under 21 years of age.
Clinical signs of the disease, according to the CDC, include fever, rash, swelling of the hands and feet, irritation and redness of the whites of the eyes, swollen lymph glands in the neck, and irritation and inflammation of the mouth, lips, and throat.
New Yorkers should seek immediate care if a child has:
- Prolonged fever (more than five days)
- Difficulty feeding (infants) or is too sick to drink fluids
- Severe abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting
- Change in skin color: becoming pale, patchy and/or blue
- Trouble breathing or is breathing very quickly
- Racing heart or chest pain
- Decreased amount of frequency in urine
- Lethargy, irritability or confusion
“There’s still so much we don’t know about COVID-19, and in the beginning we were led to believe that the good news about this virus was it didn’t affect children,” Cuomo said.
“Now we have a new issue that we’re looking at where some children affected with the COVID-19 virus are becoming ill with symptoms similar to the Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome,” he said. “This would be really painful news and would open up an entirely different chapter in our fight against this virus and the State Department of Health is currently investigating these cases to learn more. In the meantime, we are cautioning all people to look out for the symptoms of this serious illness and to seek help immediately if your child is sick.”
Though most children who get COVID-19 experience only mild symptoms, in the United Kingdom, a possible link has also been reported between pediatric COVID-19 and serious inflammatory disease. The inflammatory syndrome has features which overlap with Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome and may occur days to weeks after acute COVID-19 illness. It can include persistent fever, abdominal symptoms, rash, and even cardiovascular symptoms requiring intensive care.
Early recognition by pediatricians and referral to a specialist including to critical care is essential. Molecular and serological testing for COVID-19 in children exhibiting the above symptoms is recommended. The majority of patients have tested positive for COVID-19, some on molecular testing for SARS-COV-2, others on serological testing.
“With each passing day we’re learning more about this terrible virus and this potentially new development requires even greater understanding,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said. “We’ll devote the resources of the department to research each potential case and share our findings with health care providers around the state and country.”
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