Another eight children in Los Angeles County have contracted an inflammatory condition related to the coronavirus, which has brought the total number of cases to 62, public health officials in the country announced Saturday.
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, is severe but relatively rare. In LA County, it has affected Latino children excessively. No further details on the eight new cases were available.
Children are generally less vulnerable to the coronavirus than adults and usually remain asymptomatic. The inflammatory response that results in MIS-C usually develops two to four weeks after exposure to the virus.
Symptoms of MIS-C may include persistent fever, abdominal or neck pain, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, bloodshot eyes, low blood pressure and exhaustion. Inflammation of body parts, such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs, is also a possible symptom.
Children have come down with the MIS-C since the early pandemic. In December, a child with a complicated heart condition died from MIS-C in LA County – the only local death from the condition so far.
But in an indication of the severity of the disease, all 62 children with MIS-C have been admitted to the hospital in LA County, health officials said, with 45% in the intensive care unit.
According to officials, Latino children accounted for nearly 74% of the cases in LA County.
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 1,659 MIS-C cases and 26 deaths since May.
The MIS-C cases of LA County were relatively evenly distributed among age groups: 31% were younger than 5, 37% between 5 and 11, and 32% between 12 and 20.
Nationwide, the CDC reported that the average age of children affected was 8 years old.
If your child has MIS-C symptoms, contact your doctor or call 2-1-1, and LA County will help you find a doctor.