Covid-19-Related Childhood Illness Shows Up in Mississippi

Although little is known about the new Covid-19-related illness being diagnosed in children — Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) — it has now been diagnosed in a child in the state of Mississippi.

According to a press release from the Mississippi State Department of Health, a child in an undisclosed location in central Mississippi has been diagnosed with MIS-C. At some point following a positive Coronavirus test, the patient showed symptoms of this newly-described illness.

According to the release, the child is well enough now to have been released from the hospital.

MIS-C is described by MSDH as an inflammatory illness found in children under 18 years of age that may be associated with previous COVID-19 infection. The illness is rare and not contagious. Not much is known about it at this time.

 “This is a reminder that while the number of COVID-19 cases in children has been relatively low, the virus can still cause severe illness in children,” MSDH State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said. “This syndrome presents itself post-COVID-19 infection.”

According to the CDC, MIS-C may be suspected when a child previously diagnosed with Covid-19 then presents with symptoms including a persistent fever and “a constellation of symptoms” that might include hypertension and multi-organ involvement. 

The health department’s release also reported the state’s first pediatric flu death of 2020. The flu affects many each year both in Mississippi and around the globe. This child also hailed from central Mississippi, and did not also test positive for Covid-19.

This was the first pediatric flu death in Mississippi since 2018.