In New York, fifteen patients, hospitalized between April 17 and May 1 and aged 2 to 15, all suffered from an inflammatory disease that could be linked to the coronavirus. Taken by fever, some presented rashes, abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhea, said the city's health authorities.
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Their symptoms resembled those of Kawasaki disease, an inflammatory disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5, or toxic shock syndrome, linked to the production of toxins in response to a bacterial infection. All of these children required respiratory or cardiac assistance, and sometimes both. They received treatment including aspirin. None died from the disease.
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"We are not sure what it is"
Among the sick children, four tested positive for coronavirus and six others showed antibodies. The head of the New York City health department, Oxiris Barbot, nevertheless indicated that no formal link had been established between this disease and the coronavirus. "We are not sure what it is," she said during the mayor's daily press briefing. "We are still learning about how the Covid-19 works every day."
Even if the number of cases remains modest compared to the figures of contamination of the coronavirus, the mayor of New York Bill de Blasio considered that it was "enough [...] to worry us". Health officials have suggested that there may be many more cases, only the most serious having been reported. The mayor called on all New York parents to be vigilant and to report to health professionals any child who has similar symptoms.
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The pediatricians were also alerted, so as to better identify possible new cases. Several similar cases have been reported recently in Europe, mainly in the countries most affected by the coronavirus. Doctor Barbot spoke on Tuesday of cases in Philadelphia and Boston. Untreated, Kawasaki disease or toxic shock syndrome can lead to death in some cases.