Doctors refer to the condition that hospitalized dozens of children as "pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome," and health officials believe it may be linked to the coronavirus. Three children have died as a result of this in New York, said Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday.
New York is investigating whether the cases contradict the belief that children are less at risk for coronavirus and what other hospitals should be looking for, said Cuomo.
Pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome does not show the characteristics of the coronavirus in children who have been diagnosed, said Cuomo. He has symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome.
Kawasaki disease causes inflammation in the walls of the arteries and can limit blood flow to the heart. It produces elevated temperature for more than five days, rash, swollen cervical glands, chapped lips, swelling of the hands and feet, and redness in both eyes.
Children under the age of 5 are most often affected; and although it can be deadly, it is treatable. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kawasaki is one of the leading causes of acquired heart disease in the United States, with complications that include enlargement of the coronary arteries and aneurysms.
Toxic shock syndrome, on the other hand, is caused by a toxin produced by certain forms of staph bacteria and causes fever, shock, and problems with multiple organs in the body, according to the US National Library of Medicine.
The difference in symptoms could be attributed to pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome being a second phase of coronavirus disease, pediatrician Dr. Glenn Budnick told CNN Newsroom on Saturday.
"Your immune system overreacts to the virus, and because these are inflammatory diseases, this overreaction can cause Kawasaki-like disease," said Budnick.
What is the extent of infections?
The New York State Department of Health is studying the cases of 73 children, Cuomo said on Saturday.
Most of them tested positive for coronavirus or tested positive for antibodies.
Elsewhere, Seattle reported a case in a healthy adolescent who developed shock symptoms that sent him to the intensive care unit, according to CNN affiliate KIRO. A team from Stanford Children's Hospital in California also reported a case.
Similar cases have been reported internationally.
A small number of children in the UK have recently fallen ill with the rare coronavirus syndrome, pediatricians have said. Such cases have also been reported in Italy and Spain. Abdominal pain, gastrointestinal symptoms and heart inflammation are common in these cases, according to British experts.
What do the officials say?
While the cases remain only by the dozen, Cuomo calls for vigilance.
"It's always a changing situation, but it's a serious situation," said Cuomo.
The New York Department of Health is communicating with the CDC and federal officials about the cases, and the CDC has asked the state to develop national criteria so that country's health professionals know what to look for, a- he declared.
To better understand the situation, the Department of Health is collaborating with the New York Genome Center and Rockefeller Universityto conduct a genome and RNA sequencing study, said Cuomo.
The potential risk to children comes at a time of heightened anxiety, as the coronavirus has killed more than 78,000 people in the country.
"We were working under the impression that young people were not affected by Covid-19," said Cuomo. "We are no longer sure that this is the case."
CNN Faith Karimi and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.
