CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It was first spotted in the United Kingdom and then on the East Coast. It's an unusual illness in children who have recovered from COVID-19 or even in some who were merely exposed to the virus.
3News spoke to some local pediatric specialists about what the 'Pediatric Multi-Symptom Inflammatory Syndrome' is and how they are prepared to handle it if it comes to the Coastal Bend.
Dr. Wesley Jakubowski is a pediatrician. He said pediatric MIS or PMIS is an illness that seems to be affecting some children who have been infected with the coronavirus. Some doctors are comparing it to Kawasaki disease - a rare inflammatory immune response condition. In 30 plus years of seeing patients, Dr. Jakubowski sees only one or two cases of Kawasaki disease per year.
"In children, because the virus is very aggressive, it produces a very strong immune response," Dr. Jakubowski said.
Doctors have not seen any cases of the illness in the Coastal Bend, but if it should present itself, they're ready.
Infectious Disease Specialist with Driscoll Children's Hospital Dr. Jaime Fergie said he and his colleagues are on the alert, and he wants parents to be on the lookout as well.
Symptoms
- Fever
- Abdominal pain
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Neck pain
- Rash
- Bloodshot eyes
- Fatigue
"The medications we use to treat other severe inflammations in children work also for the new multi-symptom inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19," Dr. Fergie said. "If we were to have a child here with that condition, we have the medication to treat because we have medication to treat inflammation."
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
More from 3News on KIIITV.com: