Three children die from coronavirus-linked inflammatory illness, New York officials say
Three children in New York have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome that could be related to the coronavirus, state officials said Saturday.
In a press conference Saturday morning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said “three young New Yorkers have died of what may be a COVID-related illness in children,” NBC News reported.
“We thought initially that young people were not affected by COVID-19,” the governor added, according to the outlet. “We’re not so sure that that is the fact anymore.”
All three children died after experiencing complications from the mysterious illness known as pediatric multi-symptom inflammatory syndrome, according to NBC News.
One of the kids, a 7-year-old Westchester County boy, died late last week after suffering neurological complications from the rare syndrome, CBS New York reported, citing county officials. The child tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, health officials said, indicating he had the virus but recovered.
A 5-year-old boy, whose death was reported Friday, died April 7 at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital in New York City, according to the news station.
Cuomo didn’t immediately offer further details about the third child who died. On Twitter, he said the state’s Department of Health is investigating and will provide updates soon.
Officials warn that the syndrome, which causes symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome, can also develop in children who have not tested positive for coronavirus, McClatchy News previously reported.
“So this is every parent’s nightmare, right? That your child may actually be affected by this virus,” Cuomo told reporters at a Friday news conference, according to CBS New York. “But it’s something we have to consider seriously now.”
The newly reported illness was seen in at least 15 children who were hospitalized between April 17 and May 1, Demetre Daskalakis, deputy commissioner of disease control with the New York City Health Department, told local station WNBC last week.
The Empire State has since reported 73 cases of the mysterious condition, according to the news station.
Nationally, about 100 children have been diagnosed with the syndrome with new cases reported in New Jersey, California, Louisiana, Washington state and others, NBC News reported. The illness has also been reported in London.
Symptoms of the potentially fatal syndrome include high fever, abdominal pain and cardiac inflammation. The most severe cases have landed children in the intensive care unit.
“All patients had subjective or measured fever and more than half reported rash, abdominal pain, vomiting, or diarrhea,” Daskalakis wrote in a memo to New York doctors early last week. “Respiratory symptoms were reported in less than half of these patients. More than half of the reported patients required blood pressure support and five required mechanical ventilation.”
The World Health Organization said it is now investigating the rare condition.
This story was originally published May 9, 2020 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Three children die from coronavirus-linked inflammatory illness, New York officials say."