Coronavirus: WHO investigating Covid-19 link to rare inflammatory disease in children

Health chief says it is 'critical' for doctors to find more information on rare syndrome

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for clinicians to be "on alert” for a rare inflammatory syndrome in children which could be linked to coronavirus.

Health officials have been increasing hearing about cases of an inflammatory disease similar to Kawasaki disease in several countries, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general, said on Friday that the organisation had put together a preliminary case definition and case report form for the syndrome.

“In the past weeks, reports from Europe and North America have described a small number of children being admitted to intensive care units with a multisystem inflammatory condition with some features similar to Kawasaki’s disease and toxic shock syndrome,” Dr Tedros said.

“Initial reports hypothesise that this syndrome may be related to Covid-19.”

He added: “It is critical to urgently and carefully characterise this clinical syndrome, to understand causality and to describe treatment interventions.”

“I call on all clinicians worldwide to work with your national authorities and WHO to be on the alert and better understand this syndrome in children.”

In April, the UK’s Paediatric Intensive Care Society issued an alert to doctors noting there had been an increase in the number of children with “a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care” across the country.

Doctors in Italy and Spain have also been warned to look out for the rare condition in children.

At the WHO’s press conference on Friday, Dr Kerkhove said more information was needed to determine if there was a link between the syndrome and Covid-19.

“We need more information collected in a systematic way because with the initial reports, we’re getting a description of what this looks like, which is not always the same,” Dr Kerkhove said.

“In some children, they tested positive for Covid-19 and other children have not. So we do not know if this is associated with Covid-19.”

On Friday, France’s national health agency announced that a 9-year-old child had died with symptoms of a rare inflammatory condition after testing positive for the coronavirus.

About 125 children in France have developed symptoms similar to those of Kawasaki disease, with some French doctors suggesting the cases are linked to Covid-19.

Additional reporting by agencies