COVID in children: Uptick reported in MIS-C, rare inflammatory syndrome in children, following delta variant flare

A number of pediatric hospitals across the country are warning of an increase in the number of cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare condition in which different parts of the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, the brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs become inflamed.

The rise follows the country’s most recent summer delta increase in pediatric infections.

MIS-C, which most commonly appears four to six weeks after infection with COVID-19, can be serious and potentially fatal, but most children who are diagnosed with it recover with medical care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal data shows there have been at least 46 confirmed deaths from MIS-C and 5,217 confirmed cases from MIS-C – and about 61% of reported cases have been in Hispanic / Latino or black children. Children aged 6 to 11, who may soon be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, have reported the highest number of cases of MIS-C since the start of the pandemic.

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Nearly 5.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19, and MIS-C infections represent only 0.0009% of pediatric COVID-19 cases. However, between July and August, the average number of daily cases of MIS-C nearly doubled.

“MIS-C occurs about four to six weeks after a primary COVID infection, and we know that the delta variant has really had an impact on children, more than previous waves, so it’s not much of a surprise a few weeks after your the first COVID cases start to come in, then you start to see your MIS-C cases come in, “Dr Amy Edwards, pediatric infectious disease specialist at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, told ABC News on Friday. of Cleveland, in reference to the recent rise of the establishment.

The Dayton Children’s Hospital told ABC News they had also seen a slight increase in recent weeks. And it’s not just in Ohio where authorities are seeing increases. In Tennessee, the number of MIS-C cases has more than tripled since early February.

We have seen a dramatic increase in cases of COVID-19 in children over the past two months with the increase of the delta variant in our region, ”said Dr Sophie Katz, assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital in a statement. “Unfortunately, we anticipate an increase in MIS-C cases following this spike.”

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Earlier this week, officials at the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, told a news conference their doctors had seen a slight increase in MIS-C in recent weeks, as more and more children were positive.

“I saw three with MIS-C personally last week,” said Dr. Angela Myers, director of the infectious disease division at Children’s Mercy. “I think we had more [children] continue to be admitted to hospital since then. It’s more than the zero we had several months ago. “

And on Wednesday, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, which is home to Mississippi’s only pediatric hospital, reported that the state is still seeing acute cases of COVID-19 and MIS-C in children.

“What we have now is both MIS-C and severe acute COVID-19, and I think it’s because of schools dropping mask mandates,” said Dr Charlotte Hobbs, professor of pediatric infectious diseases and director of the MIS-C clinic at UMMC, in a statement. “We’ve seen this drop in acute COVID-19, then MIS-C, and now acute COVID-19 is increasing again. Acute COVID-19 and MIS-C at the same time is something that has not happened before, and it is preventable. “

Sharella Ruffin’s 6-year-old son, originally from Utah, Zyaire, contracted the rare syndrome earlier this month.

“How can something like this take your child’s life back in a week? I don’t understand that. It was like the scariest things that have ever happened in my life. No mother should ever have to hear. that your baby might not be doing that, “Ruffin told ABC News on Friday. “See your 6 year old son just laying there. And he’s scared and doesn’t know what’s going on.”

According to the CDC, the best way for a parent to protect their child is to take “daily actions” to prevent COVID-19, including wearing a mask and washing their hands.

Currently, serious illness from COVID-19 remains “rare” in children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

However, any acute illness caused by COVID-19 and the death of a child is cause for concern, Dr. Richard Besser, pediatrician and former CDC acting director, said on Friday’s “Good Morning America” ​​program. ABC.

“One of the myths circulating is that this COVID pandemic is not affecting children. There have been over 600 children who have died. There have been thousands who have been hospitalized,” Besser said.

Experts continue to stress the urgency not only for children to be vaccinated, when they are eligible, but also for their parents and all those in the communities around them to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

ABC News’ Felicia Biberica, Kelly Landrigan and Kristen Red-Horse contributed to this report.