The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are monitoring state health reports to see if any of the new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is generating an increase of a rare post-infection condition in children, CNN reported.
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, is a condition which appears about three weeks after infection and can cause inflammation of the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs, the CDC says on its website.
With new variants such as those first identified in Britain and South Africa supposedly more contagious, CDC officials wonder if that could cause an increase in instances of MIS-C.
"All I can say right now is we don't know," CNN quoted the CDC Influenza Division's Dr. Angela Campbell telling a meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. "We are very interested in that question."
Campbell said the CDC has learned from an increase of MIS-C cases from a number of states, but it was inconclusive if that was caused by a general increase in the number of reported infection or the variants.
"It's just not possible to figure that out right now," Campbell said.
Non-white children reportedly develop MIS-C more frequently than white children, with Blacks six times more likely, Hispanics four times more likely, and Asian-Pacific Islander children three times more likely.
Children recover with prompt treatment, so the CDC recommends parents seek immediate treatment if their child exhibits fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or feeling extra tired.
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