Coronavirus: Up to 100 UK children affected by rare disease linked to infection

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Up to 100 children in the UK have been affected by a new disease thought to be linked to infection with coronavirus.

At least one teenager, a 14-year-old boy, has died after suffering a stroke caused by complications of treatment for the new syndrome, which is similar to the existing Kawasaki disease leading to an inflammatory response in the body’s immune system causing blood vessels to swell.

Symptoms include a fever, rash, red eyes and lips and redness on the palms and soles of the feet. Some children have become so sick they have needed treatment in intensive care units.

Many of the children tested negative for infection with Covid-19 but have tested positive for antibodies which doctors believe suggests the syndrome is being caused by the effects of antibodies created after the virus has been defeated by the immune system.

Experts say the condition is still extremely rare and not a cause for general alarm among parents.

In April an alert was issued by the Paediatric Intensive Care Society after a small number of children in London were recognised as suffering from a new form of syndrome. Since then the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said between 75 and 100 children had been identified with the condition.

Russell Viner, president of the RCPCH, said: “We understand there’s about 75 to 100 children across the UK who have been affected by this new syndrome.

“They are from young infants, all the way through to slightly older teenagers. There is a real spectrum of illness. Many children are very little affected at all by this. But a small proportion have become much more severely ill.”

He stressed the overall risk to children from Covid-19 and the new syndrome was extremely low.

“We believe the numbers of deaths related to Covid-19 in children can be counted on the fingers of two hands, that’s including any of those that have been related to this syndrome.”

Dr Liz Whittaker, clinical lecturer in paediatric infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said the first cases were spotted in April and appeared to affect children aged between five and 16.

She said: “These children are quite unwell and inflamed, but what we’re also seeing is a subset who are extremely unwell and who need intensive care, and another group of children who’ve actually already recovered following having some treatment are now at home.”

She added the peak of cases appeared to be two weeks behind the peak of Coronavirus infections in London.

A new study in The Lancet, from doctors in Bergamo, one of the worst areas affected by coronavirus in Italy, found a similar syndrome among children there. There have been similar findings among children in New York.

The Italian doctors said they saw 10 children with symptoms similar to the inflammatory condition called Kawasaki disease.

Only 19 children had been diagnosed with that disease in the five years to February 2020 but during the Covid-19 outbreak 10 children were reported in two months. Eight out of the 10 children tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies.

Kawasaki disease is a rare condition that normally affects children under the age of five – the Covid-19 syndrome has affected older children including teenagers.

It is not known what triggers the condition but is thought to be linked to an abnormal immune response to infection.

Dr Simon Kenny, national clinical director for children and young people at NHS England, reiterated the new syndrome was rare but was being taken seriously by the NHS.

He said: “The message again is that the NHS has the capacity. Currently our paediatric intensive care units are at 65 per cent capacity, we’ve actually seen a reduction in children, presenting with other critical illnesses so there’s no capacity issues. Parents and families should be reassured that A&E departments and paediatricians are aware of this.”