#15,220
Although the young have generally been reported to fare pretty well with COVID-19 infection, over the past couple of weeks there have been anecdotal reports of more serious illness, and unusual symptoms (including `COVID toes'), in children.
Overnight PICS - the Uk's Paediatric Intensive Care Society - tweeted an urgent alert (see below) warning of a rare, but potential serious COVID-19 complication in pediatric infections. The original alert was reportedly distributed by the NHS.
This tweet even caught the attention of Jeremy Farrar at Wellcome Trust.
Overnight HSJ published:
Exclusive: National alert as ‘coronavirus-related condition may be emerging in children’
By Dave West 27 April 2020
- Alerts issued to GPs and children’s intensive care doctors
- Very small numbers likely to have been affected
- May be ’coronavirus related’ or a different ’infectious pathogen’ with similar characteristics
A serious coronavirus-related syndrome may be emerging in the UK, according to an “urgent alert” issued to doctors, following a rise in cases in the last two to three weeks, HSJ has learned.
- Little known so far about the syndrome
An alert to GPs and seen by HSJ says that in the “last three weeks, there has been an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multisystem inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the UK”.
It adds: “There is a growing concern that a [covid-19] related inflammatory syndrome is emerging in children in the UK, or that there may be another, as yet unidentified, infectious pathogen associated with these cases.”
(Continue . . . )
One twitter account - run by doctors - has posted what appears to be the original NHS Alert. I've not found the original yet on any NHS site, however.
There is still some question whether these severe pediatric cases are caused by COVID-19, or by some other disease process, but now that the alert has gone out, we should get more data relatively soon.
