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The inflammatory condition affecting children during the pandemic is linked to coronavirus infection, a peer-reviewed study confirms.
Researchers at King’s College London have found that the condition, known as pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), is different from Kawasaki disease.
The disease can manifest as a rash, fever and abdominal pain and is linked to a previous infection with the same virus, SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19.
COVID-19 has killed nearly three quarters of a million people worldwide to date.
Scientists are unable to explain why adults tend to develop COVID-19 while children are more prone to be struck by MIS-C, despite being caused by the same virus.
The hyper-inflammatory condition is thought to be a delayed immune response to infection, making traditional throat and nose swabs redundant.
But more than two-thirds (68%) of the children in the latest study tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, proving they had been infected in the past.
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Bertie Brown was admitted to the Royal Worcestershire Hospital earlier this year on her second birthday after developing a fever and rash all over her body which was believed to have been MIS-C
MIS-C is a form of toxic shock syndrome that causes the body’s immune system to attack its own organs. It is believed to be caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
As the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, Kawasaki-type disease emerged and increased in frequency.
It almost exclusively affects children or young adults, unlike COVID-19 which rarely harms young people.
Despite the suspected link to the coronavirus and the similarity to Kawasaki disease, scientists had yet to find out what caused the disease and, in fact, what exactly the disease is.
But researchers have now published the first study confirming that MIS-C is its own unique condition associated with a previous infection with SARS-CoV-2.
Current treatments appear to be effective and involve steroids, blood thinners, immunoglobulins, and occasionally ventilation and admission to intensive care.
However, the symptoms of the two conditions are very similar.
Dr Manu Shankar-Hari, co-author of the latest research, told MailOnline: ‘There is no diagnostic test for Kawasaki disease or MIS-C.
“There are common clinical features. So, the best thing to do is seek medical advice if your child is not doing well.
MailOnline reported in May that Birmingham-based researchers came to the same conclusion but their study has yet to be peer-reviewed, where it is being reviewed by independent academics.
However, King’s College research broke through those barriers after it was originally posted online as a pre-print in July. It is now available in Nature Medicine.
Dr Shankar-Hari, co-author of the latest research, told MailOnline: “ This research points out that unlike Kawasaki disease, MIS-C is associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection with different clinical and immune outcomes. ”
Chloe Knight, 22, has revealed that her two-year-old son Freddie Merrylees (pictured) fell ill just before the lockdown and was ‘like a zombie’ due to the illness The youngster had a rash on his body, a high temperature, red eyes and had difficulty eating and drinking
Children with the disease are usually taken to hospital with a high fever that lasts for several days and severe abdominal pain. The most seriously ill may develop sepsis-like symptoms such as rapid breathing and poor circulation.
The research looked at the immune response in 25 children (15 boys and 10 girls) with MIS-C, aged 7 to 14, who were treated at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London.
All of the children had symptoms that made the doctors suspect they had MIS-C. Eighteen had telltale gastrointestinal problems and seven showed signs of pneumonia.
The patients were tested for antibodies to see if they had ever been infected with SARS-CoV-2. Seventeen came back positive (68%).
While eight have tested negative for antibodies, clinicians believe they would have contacted SARS-CoV-2 at some point.
Indeed, of those eight, six had previously shown symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, had been in close contact with people with confirmed cases of COVID-19, or had a relative who was a health worker. health.
Patients were studied in three stages: the first three days after admission to hospital, as their symptoms improved, and during their first outpatient appointment.
Blood samples and other tests were compared to seven children the same age and not bad.
What the researchers found is that the MIS-C condition causes the body to produce fewer B and T cells – which are part of the body’s immune response and help fend off disease. This decline is reflected in adults with COVID-19.
However, the immune response was very different from Kawasaki disease.
“Overall, MIS-C presents as an immunopathogenic disease and appears distinct from Kawasaki disease,” the researchers write in the study.
Dr Shankar-Hari says it is difficult to quantify how common MIS-C is because the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in children remains a mystery.
Little is known about MIS-C except that it is rare, caused by SARS-CoV-2, and has symptoms similar, but not identical, to Kawasaki disease.
It emerged earlier this year with parents sharing heartbreaking images of their children in hospital covered in bright red rashes.
In May, at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, doctors in the United States said the inflammatory disease could affect adults in their early 20s.
Although deaths from MIS-C are very rare, they have been recorded. A 14-year-old boy in London has died of the disease. and at least four deaths reported in the United States.
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