No recorded cases of MIS-C in COVID-19 positive children in Guyana

Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, MP, said there are no recorded cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C), a rare but serious condition associated with COVID-19 in which different body parts of children affected by Covid-19 become inflamed.

Dr. Anthony said children generally get a milder form of the Covid-19 disease.  

“We have not seen any case here as yet, but it’s a very rare condition, but it’s something that we have to constantly look out for,’ the health minister said during his Covid-19 update on Monday.

As of Sunday, there were 5,594 confirmed cases of Covid- 19 among children in Guyana.

“We can confirm by PCR that they were positive for Covid-19 so within this age group we are seeing persons, children testing positive, because I think for some people it’s a myth that children are not gonna be positive and things like that. That’s far from the truth because we have these 5,594 children who have already tested and confirmed to be positive, and this ranges from the zero to four age group, five to nine, 10-14 right up to age 19,” Dr Anthony said.

He said a subset of children infected can have complications “if they have underlying issues just like in the adults, if they have some form of co-morbidity, then when that is compounded with Covid 19, you can have a more severe form of the infection and that can lead to some problems.”

MIS in children was first observed in Europe and pediatricians around the world have been asked to keep a close eye on the disease.

According to the World Health Organisation, symptoms of MIS-C include:

a) Rash or bilateral non-purulent conjunctivitis or muco-cutaneous inflammation signs (oral, hands or feet).

b) Hypotension or shock.

c) Features of myocardial dysfunction, pericarditis, valvulitis, or coronary abnormalities (including ECHO findings or elevated Troponin/NT-proBNP),

d) Evidence of coagulopathy (by PT, PTT, elevated d-Dimers).

 e) Acute gastrointestinal problems (diarrhoea, vomiting, or abdominal pain) and elevated markers of inflammation such as ESR, C-reactive protein, or procalcitonin.

Minister Anthony noted that there needs to be at least two of these symptoms before MIS-C is diagnosed.