Black Children With COVID-19 More Susceptible To Kawasaki-like Syndrome: Scientists

Black children with COVID-19 more susceptible to Kawasaki-like syndrome: scientists

Medical data from Paris also suggests that multi-inflammatory syndrome is most likely not associated with typical Kawasaki syndrome, but is an immune response to the virus.

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Doctors from France have published the results of a retrospective study of these children, who from April 27 to May 11 were hospitalized in Paris hospitals with multi-inflammatory syndrome - we are talking about 21 cases. The symptoms of this syndrome are similar to the rarest Kawasaki disease and seem to be associated with COVID-19.

The researchers said that about 57% of the young patients were of African descent. Only 14% of hospitalized children had at least one parent from Asia, while children of Asian descent are more susceptible to Kawasaki disease than others. The doctors concluded that the multivariate syndrome in children is most likely not related to this disease and can be caused by genetic or immune factors. The researchers warned that the findings may indicate that children of African descent are at the main risk group.

In the United States, where 145 cases of multi-inflammatory syndrome in children have been reported in New York alone, there is no data on the race or ethnicity of young patients. However, it is known that most of the severe cases and deaths from COVID-19 in America occur in the African American community. Doctors believe that social factors play a key role in this - a large proportion of blacks live in poverty and do not have access to quality medicine. However, in the sample of children with multi-inflammatory syndrome in Paris, there were no families living in poor social conditions.

“We urge primary care and emergency physicians to be very vigilant, especially in countries with a high proportion of black populations and an increased risk of spreading infection,” the researchers write.

They also pointed out that, according to their parents, all sick children since mid-March observed quarantine measures, did not go to school and did not gather in groups. Nine of them had symptoms of acute respiratory illness approximately 45 days before the onset of the multivariable syndrome. Only one child had symptoms of COVID-19, 38% tested positive for coronavirus and 90% of them had IgG antibodies.

This data coincides with reports of the identification of multivariable syndrome in children in countries where the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic occurred a month and a half ago.

“Such a delay between the peak of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the manifestation of the multi-inflammatory syndrome in children indicates that this is probably an indirect post-infectious manifestation of the coronavirus. It is very likely that there will be new reports of similar cases from countries that are passing or have recently passed the peak of incidence,”said Mary Beth Son, MD, of Boston Children's Hospital.