India ’ s second COVID-19 wave shines spotlight on rare paediatric syndrome
Called MIS-C , it ’ s causing anguish for families with children struck down weeks after infection
Daily cases of COVID-19 as high as 400,000 in May led to a worrying number of children presenting at hospitals and clinics with MIS-C in the following months
As if the high mortality rate of COVID-19 were not enough , more terrifying consequences of the virus are now emerging . One of these is especially alarming because , rare as it is , it claims children as its main victims .
First it was black fungus , a gruesome sounding disease that rose to prominence in India with a high mortality rate that causes discolouration over the nose , blurred or double vision , chest pain , breathing difficulties , and coughing of blood .
Then came white and yellow fungus , and now multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children ( MIS-C ). A potentially fatal condition , MIS-C is now under the spotlight as a consequence of a spike in COVID-19 infections in India this year .
Although the syndrome has been observed since the early days of the pandemic , the sheer number of infections in India ’ s second COVID-19 wave has exposed the damage the virus can wreak on paediatric patients .
Daily cases of COVID-19 as high as 400,000 in May led to a worrying number of children presenting at hospitals and clinics with MIS-C in the following months , as the syndrome can develop weeks after exposure to the virus .
Since case reporting of the new condition in India was not mandatory until recently , officials have not been able to estimate the actual number of patients affected by MIS-C . Press reporting of dozens of children being treated at individual hospitals across India , however , suggests it is widespread .
Dr Gurdev Chowdhary , a paediatrician at Ankur Hospital in the northern Indian state of Punjab , told The Tribune in June : “ We have been getting regular cases of MIS-C for the last two months . A total of 40 cases have been reported at our hospital alone .”
After admitting 10 children over 24 hours in early June , Ganga Ram , a top private hospital in Delhi , set up a separate unit for MIS-C cases . About 70 percent of the affected children needed intensive care as they required constant monitoring and support .
Last year , only three patients with MIS-C were reported throughout India , but in the second wave , more children are believed to have caught the virus , leading to more cases .
The first symptom is a high fever , followed by inflammation of the organs . Depending on the patient , the heart , brain , kidneys , skin , eyes , or digestive tract could be affected , which can lead to heart , respiratory , or renal failure . Early diagnosis of MIS-C is critical , as it ’ s still fairly easy to treat in its early stages .
Early detection , however , is difficult , one reason being that a high fever during the Indian summer months could be caused by malaria , viral fever , dengue , or typhoid . Parents who mistake the symptoms for these diseases end up getting delayed
MIS-C infections are on the rise among children in India
40 JUNE 2021 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com