Three children aged 2, 3 and 5
resident in the province of Como have been admitted to hospital
in the northern city with Kawasaki Syndrome potentially linked
to COVID-19, the local health agency said Tuesday.
Two of them were then rushed to intensive care units in Milan
and Bergamo because their heart tissue was inflamed
(myocarditis), while the third child is still at Como's
Sant'Anna Hospital.
Sant'Anna's paediatrics chief Angelo Selicorni said "there is no
fear and no alarm" despite the seriousness of the cases.
He said parents must be careful to note a series of "alarm
bells" including high fever lasting for several days,
conjunctivitis, dry lips or mouth, a state of general weakness,
reddening and/or swelling of hands and feet, and an increase in
the size of certain lymph nodes.
In these cases children should be taken to hospital, he said.
Studies indicate that Kawasaki, whose causes are still unknown,
may be favoured by an excessive immune reaction to an infection,
including COVID-19.
A study of the possible link between COVID and Kawasaki,
conducted by Bergamo hospital's paediatrics unit, was recently
published in The Lancet.
The study analysed 10 cases of children with symptoms compatible
with a diagnosis of Kawasaki Disease who arrived at the northern
city's Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital between March 1 and April 20
this year.
In the five previous years, this disease had only been diagnosed
in 19 children.
Kawasaki disease is a syndrome of unknown cause that results in
a fever and mainly affects children under 5 years of age.
It is a form of vasculitis, where blood vessels become inflamed
throughout the body. The fever typically lasts for more than
five days and is not affected by usual medications.
Other common symptoms include large lymph nodes in the neck, a
rash in the genital area, and red eyes, lips, palms, or soles of
the feet.
Within three weeks of the onset, the skin from the hands and
feet may peel, after which recovery typically occurs. In some
children, coronary artery aneurysms form in the heart.
While the specific cause is unknown, it is thought to result
from an excessive immune system response to an infection in
children who are genetically predisposed.
It does not spread between people.
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