Story at a glance
- A peer-reviewed study by Italian doctors published Wednesday in The Lancet found 8 out of 10 children with the condition also tested positive for coronavirus bodies.
- The research was conducted at a hospital in the Italian city of Bergamo, one of the cities hit hardest by the coronavirus in the country.
- The Bergamo province has seen a 30-fold rise in the number of cases of the syndrome shortly after the coronavirus spread in the region.
New evidence has emerged suggesting there’s a link between the coronavirus and a rare inflammatory condition in children similar to Kawasaki disease, which has been reported in clusters of children in several countries since the outbreak began.
A peer-reviewed study by Italian doctors published Wednesday in The Lancet found 8 out of 10 children with the condition also tested positive for coronavirus bodies. Researchers warned the two negative results could have been false negatives.
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The research was conducted at a hospital in the Italian city of Bergamo, one of the cities hit hardest by the coronavirus in the country.
The Bergamo province has seen a 30-fold rise in the number of cases of the syndrome shortly after the coronavirus spread to the region. The study showed that while only 19 children were diagnosed with the condition in the region in more than five years, ten cases were diagnosed between March 17 and April 14. The condition is still exceedingly rare, as researchers note it probably only affects about 1 in 1,000 children who are exposed to COVID-19.
The study was only conducted among patients in Bergamo, and the authors note more research is needed among a larger sample of people.
“Our study provides the first clear evidence of a link between Sars-CoV-2 infection and this inflammatory condition,” Lorenzo D’Antiga, director of child health at the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital, told The Guardian.
Kawasaki disease is a rare illness that causes inflamed blood vessels in children and can damage the heart. It’s thought to be triggered in some children by an earlier viral infection.
The rare inflammatory condition has popped up in many countries as the coronavirus pandemic continues, including in the United States.
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New York is investigating more than 100 cases of condition, including three deaths, and at least 14 other states are investigating reported cases.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) Wednesday said 71 percent of suspected cases were admitted to intensive care units while 43 percent remain hospitalized.
Five European countries, including Spain and Italy, have also reported instances.
Symptoms include fever that lasts more than five days, severe abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting, bloodshot eyes and skin rash.
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