38 NYC Children Diagnosed With Coronavirus-Linked Syndrome
NEW YORK, NEW YORK — The first time Mayor Bill de Blasio learned children were being affected by coronavirus-linked inflammatory syndrome was literally days ago.
Within those days, 38 children have been diagnosed with the rare condition and one died, de Blasio said.
"It's causing tremendous concern," he said on Sunday. "I'm deeply concerned. As a father, I'm feeling concern."
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Doctors for months believed children were largely spared the new coronavirus' worst affects. But that started to change within recent weeks, even days, when they recognized children falling ill from a syndrome similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock syndrome.
They call it pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome.
It's an intense, almost overwhelming immune system response that causes harm to a child's body, de Blasio said. The symptoms are persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain and vomiting, he said.
He encouraged parents to call doctors or 311 if they see those symptoms.
"If you see these symptoms, act immediately," he said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave a similar warning about the syndrome during a Sunday news conference. He reported at least 85 children have fallen ill and three have died.
Another two deaths are under investigation as potential cases, he said.
De Blasio said in addition to the 38 New York City cases, there are potentially nine more pending investigation. He said it appears linked to the new coronavirus — 44 percent of those children tested positive for COVID-19 and, of those who did not, 81 percent had coronavirus antibodies.
The city is alerting parents of more than 1 million children about the syndrome, de Blasio said. Public hospitals will start testing all children with symptoms for coronavirus antibodies and Regional Enrichment Centers will increase mask enforcement and use of hand sanitizer.
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This article originally appeared on the New York City Patch
