Doctors looking into long-term effects of condition tied to COVID-19 in children

ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News has learned about 25,000 Georgia children have been diagnosed with coronavirus so far. About 400 of them had to be hospitalized.

Channel 2′s Carol Sbarge spoke to an epidemiologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Dr. Andi Shane says most of the children needing hospitalization related to the virus got a rare inflammatory disease affecting children called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children or MIS-C.

It first started showing up in the spring. Shane says the highest number of cases of MIS-C was in August. It correlates to when Georgia saw surges in coronavirus cases.

Shane says MIS-C is a post-infection condition that can show up after a previous COVID-19 infection. Some symptoms can include rashes, swelling and even pink eye.

She says they are learning that this is a condition of the body that has multiple symptoms that can also include fever, heart involvement and gastrointestinal issues.

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Fortunately there have been no deaths from this syndrome reported in Georgia. Shane says there has been success treating children with the rare inflammatory disease using steroids and other treatments.

As kids return to schools, health experts are closely watching regular coronavirus cases among children to see if there are any increases.

Overall most children don’t get as sick as adults from coronavirus but they can spread it. Dr. Shane says children should follow the precautions adult follow.

That includes wearing masks, social distancing and washing hands.

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Cox Media Group