The 10-year-old Kentucky child on a ventilator after suffering complications from a rare syndrome thought to be related to coronavirus (COVID-19) is improving, according to Gov. Andy Beshear.
Beshear announced the case on Monday at his daily COVID-19 briefing.
On Tuesday, Beshear said, “Doctors are hopeful that in the days to come the child can be removed from the ventilator.”
“This is a serious disease and it spreads very easy, and while the statistics are good for children, most are going to be perfectly fine, the statistics are not perfect,” said Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health. He added that 16-year-old Kentuckian has been hospitalized with the virus but is not relying on a ventilator to breathe.
The new syndrome, currently being referred to as pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, is being recognized in young people and causes their immune systems to become overactive, sparking an inflammation in the victims’ bodies.
“Basically it sounds like a combination of Kawasaki disease and as well as a toxic shock type syndrome,” Dr. Ryan Stanton told WKYT.com. “There’s been some association in China, Europe, and the United States in children. Basically, the initial infection the immune system just gets really cranked up and goes overboard and starts attacking everything else.”
At least three children in New York state (which has 343,000 cases and over 27,000 COVID-19 deaths) have died from the syndrome, and authorities there are monitoring at least 100 other cases, according to the New York Times. Over half the cases involve children ages five to 14.
The syndrome-related deaths in New York were a five-year-old boy in New York City; a seven-year-old boy in Westchester County (Hudson Valley); and an 18-year-old Long Island girl, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
As doctors work to determine if there is a link between COVID-19 and the syndrome, they highly recommend children following the same guidelines that adults should adhere to, including social distancing, wearing a mask and washing hands frequently.
Healthcare officials say if anyone notices symptoms in your child such as prolonged high fever, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or a change in skin color, to seek medical help immediately.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
