When the nation breathes a sigh of relief after the deadly second wave of the Chinese virus, the danger hasn’t been overcome yet. As after-effects of the COVID-19 symptoms and medications, an overreaction of the same is observed by the doctors in adolescents especially kids.

This syndrome is well known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). These cases have been reported in various towns of the land, but recently it captured the headlines as Goa witnesses a steep rise in these syndromic cases.

As per the reports Goa Medical College (GMC) has come across 14 new cases and 1 death due to MIS-C in the past two months. These cases also include those referred by two district hospitals and private hospitals.

What is MIS-C all about?

It is a syndromic condition most likely observed in children who have recovered from the Chinese virus. This syndromic ailment to date was found in studies and a child at a hundred thousand (lakh).

The said syndrome is popularly known as Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome (PIMS). It occurs in less than 0.5% of children who have (or who have had) COVID-19. According to experts, this ailment is usually detected in children who have recovered from the deadly virus for 4 to 6 weeks.

Dr. Maria Silveira, head of the paediatric department at GMC said “We had six cases in May and nine in June and there was one death. The other patients were cured and went home. The girl who died after developing MIS-C was five-year-old and she was brought to GMC in a critical stage.”

Dr. Ira Almeida, head of the paediatric department at Hospicio observed a zero number of cases in July as this syndrome develops mostly after 4 to 6 weeks of recovery from the coronavirus and as it was on peak in May, few cases were noticed in June. She further quotes “Hopefully, there won’t be any now, but those who got Covid at the end of June or this month should be careful.”

Since this syndrome mostly traps children and the third wave is mostly anticipated to be hitting the adolescent population, the government of Goa and hospitals are getting ready to serve the patients of such with good preparation to treat such paediatric cases, to which Dr. Silveira says “Most of the things are already in place, but we haven’t started using the new facility and managing from GMC.”

Another paediatrician Dr. Harshad Kamat said to have observed four cases in the age group of 5 to 16. He even confirmed their recovery after the treatment including the one 16-year-old admitted to ICU.

Dr. Shivanand Gauns, a senior paediatrician said most of the cases are likely to be referred to GMC as the drug used for the treatment; IVIG for MIS-C is too expensive. However, most of the parents can’t afford such expensive drugs which cost up to 1 lakh.

Few questions which need answers to understand this ailment thoroughly are as follows:

What are the symptoms detected?

The normally normal symptoms nowadays lead to an abnormal ailment like MIS-C and those are:

Reddish eyes
Tongue turning extreme red
Inflammation in multiple organs
Pus-filled pimples
Water accumulation in various organs; the stomach etc.

How does this syndrome affect the body?

The antibodies created in the human body after defeating the virus are the main cause seen in children getting affected with the rare syndrome.

Usually, the antibody formed in children is hyperactive and it shows its effects on each cell. And this criterion instead of guarding the body backfires and damages the cells in a way. Due to such abnormal changes, the child suffers from high fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, tongue, lips, and eyes turning red.

To detect this rarest one, the child has to undergo numerous tests, including the COVID antibody test, D-timer test, Ferritin test, LDH test, CBC test, and the inflammatory marker reports.

What do doctors say?

Numerous experts and doctors say once the child undergoes the COVID antibody test, the history comes out clear whether the child suffered from the deadly virus or not, and surprisingly almost 50% of them say that the children who did not have any COVID symptoms earlier even tested positive for the MIS-C detection test. They even say the rare one affects the child aging from 5 to 15 years.

After diagnosing the syndrome, the children go through unexpected hardships like

Fever for more than 3 days
Diarrhea and vomiting
Limbs get inflamed
The water level rises in stomach
Lever gets inflamed
Low blood pressure
Tongue, lips, and eyes turn red
Pus-filled pimples
Marks on body

As one tries to come over the deadlier experiences of the past, some new things come in the way of collective victory. However, with the optimistic approach, every mountain can be surmounted.

[author title=”Shreya Gohel” image=”http://localhost/gc2/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20210127_014031.jpg”]Journalist, Goa Chronicle

Connect to me on Twitter