Jump directly to the content

NHS doctors have been sent an urgent alert warning of a rise in kids admitted to intensive care with a coronavirus-related condition.

An apparent spike in cases of youngsters suffering with an "inflammatory syndrome" has been recorded in the last few weeks.

⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

 Doctors say the syndrome is similar to toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, which can cause redness of the tongue
Doctors say the syndrome is similar to toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease, which can cause redness of the tongueCredit: Shutterstock
 The symptoms of the mysterious condition include rashes
The symptoms of the mysterious condition include rashesCredit: Shutterstock

The Paediatric Intensive Care Society said that the unidentified condition requires intensive care - with cases reported across the UK.

They say the syndrome has the characteristics of serious Covid-19, while abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms, like vomiting and diarrhoea have also been seen by doctors.

Medics warned the cases have features of toxic shock syndrome and atypical Kawasaki Disease, an inflammatory condition that attacks blood vessels and the heart.

These conditions can cause harmful internal swelling, fever and breathing problems - which are all also the main symptoms of coronavirus.

Give now to The Sun's NHS appeal

BRITAIN’s four million NHS staff are on the frontline in the battle against coronavirus.

But while they are helping save lives, who is there to help them?

The Sun has launched an appeal to raise £1MILLION for NHS workers. The Who Cares Wins Appeal aims to get vital support to staff in their hour of need.

We have teamed up with NHS Charities Together in their urgent Covid-19 Appeal to ensure the money gets to exactly who needs it.

The Sun is donating £50,000 and we would like YOU to help us raise a million pounds, to help THEM. No matter how little you can spare, please donate today here: www.thesun.co.uk/whocareswinsappeal.

But as it appears to be a completely new condition, the exact warning signs are unclear.

Cases have only started to emerge in the past three weeks - as the country reached the peak of its epidemic, according to the memo.

In the alert, sent to GPs in North London, health chiefs said: “There is growing concern that a [Covid-19] related inflammatory syndrome is emerging in children in the UK.

"Over the last three weeks, there has been an apparent rise in the number of children of all ages presenting with a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care across London and also in other regions of the UK."

It's unclear whether the mysterious syndrome is slow to develop or is so rare that it has only become apparent during the peak of the epidemic in the UK.

So far, the number of children affected has been small - and mostly in London - but senior paediatricians are concerned.

 The Paediatric Intensive Care Society (PICS) published this message on Twitter last night
The Paediatric Intensive Care Society (PICS) published this message on Twitter last night

SIGNS TO WATCH OUT FOR

NHS doctors have been told to watch out for signs of an 'inflammatory syndrome' in kids, after a rise in cases of the new condition.

Health chiefs said in an alert to GPs the signs include:

  • stomach pain
  • gastrointestinal symptoms - like vomiting and diarrhoea

The mysterious condition has been compared to toxic shock syndrome and Kawasaki disease.

The signs of TSS are:

  • high temperature
  • flu-like symptoms, like headache, feeling cold, aches, sore throat and cough
  • feeling and being sick
  • diarrhoea
  • widespread burn-like rash
  • lips, tongue, and whites of the eyes turning bright red
  • dizziness or fainting
  • difficulty breathing
  • confusion

Signs of Kawaski disease include:

  • a rash
  • swollen glands in the neck
  • dry, cracked lips
  • red fingers or toes
  • red eyes

 

 

The “urgent alert”, seen by the Health Service Journal, was issued on Sunday night by the Paediatric Intensive Care Society.

It stated: “Please refer children presenting with these symptoms as a matter of urgency.”

However, NHS England has said that there is no confirmed link between Covid-19 and Kawasaki-like diseases, adding that advice to parents hasn't changed.

Prof Simon Kenny, NHS national clinical director for children and young people, said: “Thankfully Kawasaki-like diseases are very rare, as currently are serious complications in children related to Covid-19.

"But it is important that clinicians are made aware of any potential emerging links so that they are able to give children and young people the right care fast.

“The advice to parents remains the same: if you are worried about your child for whatever reason, contact NHS 111 or your family doctor for urgent advice, or 999 in an emergency, and if a professional tells you to go to hospital, please go to hospital.”

Rare syndrome

Professor Russell Viner, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "We already know that a very small number of children can become severely ill with Covid-19 but this is very rare.

"Evidence from throughout the world shows us that children appear to be the part of the population least affected by this infection.

"New diseases may present in ways that surprise us, and clinicians need to be made aware of any emerging evidence of particular symptoms or of underlying conditions which could make a patient more vulnerable to the virus."

HEALTH WORKERS USING NEW APP TO FLAG PPE NEEDS IN REAL TIME

Health workers on the frontline are using a new data platform to communicate their protective equipment needs in real time during the coronavirus crisis.

Frontline.Live gives health workers the opportunity to say what specific PPE they need and where manufacturers can help, and hopes to match medical staff with the relevant suppliers across the country.

According to the latest data from the platform, PPE needs are highest in the Midlands, London and the South West.

Figures also show that gowns (around 50%) and safety glasses/visors (50%) are the most in-demand items across the board.

From the suppliers who have registered, 70% can provide safety glasses/visors, and 30% can provide gowns to NHS staff in need.

Frontline.live, set up by a team of dedicated volunteers, is free to sign up to, and over 70 suppliers have already joined to help NHS heroes.

Global reports

Dr Elizabeth Whittaker, a paediatrician at St Mary's Hospital in London, said that medics in other countries had reported the same illness.

She wrote on Twitter: "Our Italian and Spanish colleagues also report it. Numbers are small but significant.

"We want primary care /A&E to be vigilant so those affected are in the right place to get appropriate supportive care if needed."

Some of the children have tested positive for Covid-19 and others appear to have had the virus in the past.

But to make matters more confusing, some of the reported cases haven't had coronavirus at all.

Paediatricians and GPs are being advised to refer children with symptoms urgently to paediatric infectious disease experts and intensive care doctors.

 Today's figure on the chart shows the deaths in England, not the whole of the UK
Today's figure on the chart shows the deaths in England, not the whole of the UK

'CHECK ALL SIGNS'

A PARAMEDIC positive for Covid-19 warned her symptoms were less obvious.

Kirstine Adkin, 24, said she could not taste garlic, ground coffee or cinnamon.

She did not have a ­temperature and only a mild cough. She put a headache and backache down to the stress of work but her condition then quickly deteriorated.

The virus left her bedbound for a week at home in Poole, Dorset.

Kirstine, who works for South Western Ambulance Service, later wrote online that by day five of the disease, she could not taste or smell anything.

She added: “Just goes to show that this disease affects us differently. Please don’t take the risk and stay at home if you develop the other symptoms too.”

Prof Rosalind Smyth, director at UCL Great Ormond St Institute of Child Health, said: “We know, from the evidence to date that most children with Covid-19 who have come to medical attention have mild symptoms.

"Around half of children have a fever and about 40 per cent have a cough.

"In reported case series, fewer than 10 per cent have gastrointestinal symptoms.

"However, our understanding of this condition in children is limited.

"Covid-19 does present, in adults, as an inflammatory disease affecting a number of organs.

"We should investigate fully these children, with SARS-CoV-2, who present with a multi-system inflammatory disease to assess whether this is a presentation of Covid-19.”

Few serious cases in kids

As yet, there have been relatively few serious cases of Covid-19 in children.

That doesn't mean that kids can't catch the virus - in fact, the youngest known case was only 30 hours old.

But based on the limited information available, the symptoms in children appear to be mild, or they may even be asymptomatic.

For that reason, experts have warned that children may be "super-spreaders" of the virus.

Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical director of Patient Access, told The Sun Online: “On the whole, most children who are infected with coronavirus have a milder illness than adults, particularly older and more vulnerable patients.

"There has been a recent warning to GPs to be on the look-out for children with coronavirus-type symptoms – cough and fever – as well as tummy symptoms such as tummy pain, diarrhoea and vomiting.

"There is a concern that this could be an unusual complication of coronavirus."

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS - STAY IN THE KNOW

Don't miss the latest news and figures - and essential advice for you and your family.

To receive The Sun's Coronavirus newsletter in your inbox every tea time, sign up here.
To follow us on Facebook, simply 'Like' our Coronavirus page.

Get Britain's best-selling newspaper delivered to your smartphone or tablet each day - find out more.

She added: "It's important to stress that if this does turn out to be a complication of coronavirus, it’s likely to be a rare one.

"But parents of any child who seems very unwell should always seek medical help.

"The NHS is very much open for business for urgent problems, whether connected to coronavirus or not."

Experts say it's unclear why Covid-19 isn't impacting children as much as adults.

Especially because children's immune systems aren't as robust as adults and they tend to overreact.

Dr Nathalie MacDermott, from King's College London, told the BBC: "You'd expect it to go haywire and it's not doing that.

"There must be something this virus does that is not as readily stimulating the immune system in children, but what that is is unclear.

"They don't seem to be mounting a disproportionate immune response and some seem to be asymptomatic."

Boris Johnson addresses the nation after returning to Downing Street following coronavirus battle
Topics