Dr Hilary sets out warning signs of Covid-linked Kawasaki disease-like illness in kids

DR HILARY Jones has set out warning signs for worried parents whose children may be displaying Kawasaki disease-like symptoms.

Over the last month children up and down the country have been admitted to hospital with paediatric multi-system inflammatory disease which includes symptoms such as skin inflammation.

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And in the US, children have also ended up in intensive care with the symptoms which have been linked to the coronavirus.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Dr Hilary highlighted the symptoms parents should be aware of such as a fever, rash and peeling skin.

He said the Kawasaki disease has always been around and added that it is a rare condition that affects around eight in 100,000 children.

"The cause is unknown but it causes an inflammation of the blood vessels. But what we are seeing now is a different type of syndrome, it’s similar to Kawasaki disease and it’s thought to be a delayed immune reaction to Covid-19.

“The children who have had this and who have this won’t necessarily test positive for Covid-19.

"Some do but those that don’t often have Covid-19 antibodies so they weren’t acutely infected with Covid-19 but subsequently maybe a month later.

"That’s why we are seeing this now we think after the Covid-19 peak in the UK, we are seeing a number of children with symptoms similar to that of Kawasaki disease”.

So far over 34,000 people have died in the UK due to the coronavirus and Dr Hilary added that doctors think these symptoms are a delayed reaction to the coronavirus in children.

"The symptoms are a fever, a rash, sometimes tummy pain and diarrhoea, peeling skin, low blood pressure and swollen glands.

"These are symptoms that aren’t easy to distinguish from normal infectious diseases that can cause those kinds of symptoms in children, but it’s good to have a degree of suspicion that your child might have this syndrome which we are calling paediatric multi-system inflammatory disease".

Dr Hilary’s comments come after NHS England alerted health practitioners at the end of April, after a number of children had presented at hospitals with the symptoms.

Kawasaki disease is a condition that mainly affects children. It's also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome and the new illness is extremely similar to the disease.

The symptoms are a high temperature that lasts for five days or more and also includes symptoms such as a rash and swollen glands, similar to the paediatric multi-system inflammatory disease that Dr Hilary had highlighted.

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) also issued a preliminary definition of a new syndrome that is similar to Kawasaki disease.

It has emerged during the current coronavirus pandemic but has also appeared in children who did not test positive for Covid-19.

The condition affected children and adolescents showing fever for more than three days, with elevated markers of inflammation.

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