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Covid-19: NY Cases Of Mysterious Pediatric Disease Linked To Novel Coronavirus On Rise

The Hudson Valley has had an increase in children being admitted to hospitals with a mysterious inflammatory disease believed to be tied to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Dozens of New York children have suffered severe illnesses from COVID-19.

Dozens of New York children have suffered severe illnesses from COVID-19.

 Photo Credit: ny.gov
Zak Failla
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Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that a child in Westchester died after being treated for pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, which may be related to the outbreak of COVID-19.

On Monday, May 11, healthcare officials announced that multiple children have been coming into New York hospitals daily, with at least 93 cases statewide, with more than a dozen being treated in the Hudson Valley.

According to health officials, “while rare, we are seeing evidence that COVID-19 can cause severe illness in children.”

"Pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome (PMIS) is a new health condition appearing in children in New York and elsewhere," officials noted. "Some doctors think the condition is related to having COVID-19, but the connection is still not clear."

The symptoms officials have been seeing are similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock-like syndrome.

“What we’ve seen is that this affects young children, and it may be associated with the COVID outbreak,” Westchester County Executive George Latimer said. “We saw similar signs in Europe weeks ago that this disease was manifesting itself in children, and now in New York we’re seeing that there’s been cases of it.”

The illness potentially is a child’s body overreacting to COVID-19. It is unclear how it will impact the potential reopening of schools in the fall.

Westchester County Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler added that “it’s too early to tell if its a post-viral syndrome related to COVID-19, so until those questions are answered, it’s important to be aware of the syndrome and what to look for.”

Parents should seek immediate care if a child has:
  • A prolonged fever (more than five days);
  • Difficulty feeding (infants) or is too sick to drink fluids;
  • Severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, or vomiting;
  • Change in skin color - becoming pale, patchy, and/or blue;
  • Trouble breathing or is breathing very quickly;
  • Racing heart or chest pain;
  • Decreased amount or frequency of urine;
  • Lethargy, irritability, or confusion.

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