Up to 100 British children have had a mysterious inflammatory disease thought to be caused by COVID-19 as experts warn NHS hospitals may only be seeing tip of the iceberg
- Doctors today revealed between 75 and 100 children have had the syndrome
- But this may only be the ‘tip of the iceberg’, with others more mildly ill
- None known to have died as a direct result of the illness, which can affect heart
- Scientists said it would be ‘extremely odd’ if this wasn’t caused by COVID-19
- They cannot prove a link, however, and it may appear weeks or months later
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Up to 100 children have been hospitalised with a mysterious ‘inflammatory syndrome’ thought to be caused by the coronavirus.
Doctors today revealed that dozens of children, most aged between five and 15 years old, have become seriously ill with the condition that seems to appear up to a month after catching the coronavirus.
They say it is extremely rare and does not appear to have directly killed anyone in Britain but can lead to intensive care for a small proportion of those who get it.
The illness has been likened to Kawasaki disease, a rare disorder which causes rashes and a red mouth and eyes.
At least 18 children in London have been diagnosed with it since doctors first started noticing the syndrome last month.
Most troubling experts is that the illness is almost definitely caused by COVID-19 in some way but scientists can’t prove it.
The young patients’ lungs are not affected by it – in adults the coronavirus’s main target is the lungs – and many test negative when they are swabbed for the disease.
All of the patients studied so far, however, have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, meaning they have been exposed to the virus in the past. Scientists now believe it could be the consequence of the immune system going haywire after it has fought off the coronavirus infection, causing a second illness weeks later.
Medics have likened the illness to toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, which can cause redness of the tongue (pictured left) and rashes (pictured right), but it is unclear whether this illness is having those effects
Speaking in a briefing this afternoon, Dr Liz Whittaker, a paediatrician in London who has treated children with the illness, said: ‘There is likely an iceberg effect and we’re only seeing only the very, very sick children.’
Dr Whittaker said the peak of admissions related to the illness appeared to have happened last week.
Explaining the disease, Dr Whittaker said: ‘These children are usually presenting when they’ve had a high fever for a few days.
‘A large proportion of them have had severe acute abdominal pain and diarrhoea and some have them have had the rash, red eyes and red lips.
‘A very small group of these children develop something we call shock, which is that small group of children for whom the heart is affected.
‘And those children become very unwell – they get cold hands and feet and they breathe very fast. Those are the group who absolutely need to be in an intensive care unit getting supportive care rapidly.
‘Most children seem to be very unwell for four or five days but then get better.’
It is not clear exactly how many children have needed intensive care for the Kawasaki-like syndrome, but a surveillance study has now begun in Britain and early results may be available next week.
Professor Russell Viner, the president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said knowing about the syndrome had not changed the ‘basic arithmatic’ of COVID-19.
He said: ‘In general, children get no symptoms or very mild symptoms. They rarely present to hospital.
‘In fact across the whole of the UK there’s been under 500 admissions to hospital for COVID-19.’
The illness first came to public attention when NHS England in April circulated a warning urging doctors to look out for the condition.
In an alert sent to GPs on April 27, health chiefs said: ‘There is growing concern that a [COVID-19] related inflammatory syndrome is emerging in children in the UK.
‘Over the last three weeks there has been an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the UK.’
Health Secretary Matt Hancock at the time said he was ‘very worried’ by the reports.