A mysterious illness is striking children amid the coronavirus pandemic - but don't be too quick to

A mysterious illness is striking children amid the coronavirus pandemic – but don’t be too quick to tie it to Kawasaki disease


Critically ill children have been ending up in intensive care units with shock-like symptoms in recent weeks, adding yet another mysterious layer to the coronavirus pandemic.

New York health officials issued an alert on May 4, describing 15 of these cases in New York City. The young patients, ages 2 to 15, had inflammation in multiple organ systems and were described as having features of Kawasaki disease, a rare childhood illness of unclear origin.

A few days earlier, officials in the United Kingdom notified doctors of similar cases there, also describing them as having features similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome. Several of the children had tested positive for COVID-19.

Drawing connections to Kawasaki disease, however, may be premature. Although there are some similarities between the illnesses, there are also many differences.

Read more: https://theconversation.com/a-mysterious-illness-is-striking-children-amid-the-coronavirus-pandemic-but-dont-be-too-quick-to-tie-it-to-kawasaki-disease-137986