Thursday August 27, 2020 ~ VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., Editor ~ Island Social Trends
Eight children in BC are now itemized by the BC Centre for Disease Control as “suspected cases” of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MISC) as possibly being related to COVID-19 infection.
All of those children were admitted to BC Children’s Hospital due to their symptoms, where two of the young patients ended up in the intensive care unit due to “inflammation of blood vessels around the heart and shock”, said Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry today during a live media teleconference from Victoria.
Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic there were cases seen of what has been known until now as Kowasaki’s disease — a condition of cardiovascular inflammation seen in children after a serious infection. “(Kowasaki’s) is associated with (reactions to) gastrointestinal infections, such as from Campylobacter (from raw poultry or contaminated water) and other respiratory diseases,” said Dr Henry today.
“It happens later, after they recover from whatever disease, then they develop (symptoms),” Dr Henry said.
Symptoms of MISC in children:
Symptoms of a possible case of MISC — as would have been seen in the eight children who landed in hospital in BC — were itemized today by Dr Henry:
- Fever that lasts (a long time, days)
- Skin rash
- belly pain
- vomiting and diarrhea
- being wiped out, very lethargic.
The virus is thought to have spread to blood vessels of the heart explained Dr Henry. Those symptoms will result in parents seeking care for their affected child.
“It’s a rare condition, seen in very small numbers. It’s associated with many other infections,” the Provincial Health Officer said.
Dr Henry advised doctors in BC to be on the lookout for MISC in children as might be related to COVID-19, back in May, as the correlation became possible.
WHO has a broader definition:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has “broadened the case definition” of what can be considered a COVID-related case of MISC. “We’re only reporting confirmed cases,” said Dr Henry. That’s includes a positive result for a serology test (i.e. positive COVID test result) and/or they were sick, or they “were exposed to somebody”.
She articulated that none of the eight children’s cases now reported to WHO had antibodies in their bloodtest, but that their cases fit the broader parameters set by the WHO.
Dr Henry wants BC Centre for Disease Control data to be part of WHO’s data on MISC as may be related to COVID-19 infection.
BC cases of COVID-19 in children:
As of today August 27, a total of 375 children under the age of 19 have tested positive for COVID-19 (127 of those under the age of 10). That’s seven percent of all COVID cases since the start of the pandemic.
A mounting case for cardiovascular aspects of COVID:
Since April, blood clots have emerged as one of the many symptoms attributed to COVID-19, a disease that had initially been thought to largely affect the lungs in the form of pneumonia. Reports soon emerged of young people dying due to coronavirus-related strokes. COVID toes made news headlines — painful red or purple digits resulting from blood vessel inflammation.
Impairment in blood circulation is the common thread. Noting an April statistic that an estimated 40% of deaths from COVID-19 are related to cardiovascular complications, the disease continues to grow its reputation as being vascular infection instead of a purely respiratory one. Because it is spread by way of entry to the body through the mouth, nose and eyes it earns a reputational correlation with the category of respiratory diseases.
A theory that the COVID-19 virus infects blood vessels, could explain the high prevalence of blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks, and the wide range of inflammation around the body.
Body trying to protect itself:
There is also a leading view among medical professionals is that the immune system overreacts to try and fight the virus, something Dr Henry has mentioned a few times this year.
The cardiovascular inflammation would be one result of the body fighting hard against an invasive virus. That fits with the inflammatory response seen as a result of Kowasaki’s (seen over many years now, not just related to COVID).
