Is Kawasaki disease associated with coronavirus?

Symptoms of a rare inflammatory condition have been identified in at least 15 children in New York City hospitals, causing concern to pediatricians across the country and raising concerns about a possible coronavirus link . Read Antiviral Drug Remdesivir Shows Promise For Treating Coronavirus

Patients have shown symptoms that usually appear in Kawasaki disease or toxic shock syndrome, including persistent fever, according to the city's health department .

The children were between 2 and 15 years old and were identified between April 29 and May 3. While all the patients had a fever, more than half of them reported a rash, abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhea.

In an alert issued to doctors, the NYC health department said less than half of the patients exhibited respiratory symptoms. Four of the cases tested positive for COVID-19, while 11 tested negative.

No deaths have been reported, but many of the patients required blood pressure support and five of them required mechanical ventilation, the city’s health department said.

Both Kawasaki disease and COVID-19 are illusive conditions that doctors are still studying. Some experts doubt there's a link between the two while others don't believe the mysterious symptoms belong to Kawasaki at all.

What is Kawasaki disease?

Kawasaki disease is a disease that causes vasculitis, always in young children. It is one of the main causes of heart disease in children. But doctors can treat them if they find this early. Most children recover without any problems.

Symptoms include a fever of at least 101 degrees that lasts for five days or more, a rash and swollen glands in the neck,

It mainly affects children between the ages of 2 and 6, tends to run during "mini epidemics", and is more likely to occur in winter than in summer.

First cases with COVID-19 concern appeared in Europe

The condition was first reported by doctors in Britain, Italy and Spain in late April. Britain’s Paediatric Intensive Care Society issued an alert noting there had been an increase in the number of children with “a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care” across the country.

there was “growing concern” that either a COVID-19 related syndrome was emerging in children or that a different, unidentified disease might be responsible.

Spain’s Association of Pediatrics recently made a similar warning, telling doctors that in recent weeks, there had been a number of school-age children suffering from “an unusual picture of abdominal pain, accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms” that could lead within hours to shock, low blood pressure and heart problems.