Coronavirus/COVID-19 Informatics

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

What we know about MIS-C

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. We do not yet know what causes MIS-C. However, we know that many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19. MIS-C can be serious, even deadly, but most children who were diagnosed with this condition have gotten better with medical care.

What to do if you think your child is sick with MIS-C

Contact your child's doctor, nurse, or clinic right away if your child is showing symptoms of MIS-C:

Fever

Abdominal pain

Vomiting

Diarrhea

Neck pain

Rash

Bloodshot eyes

Feeling extra tired

Be aware that not all children will have all the same symptoms.
Seek emergency care right away if your child is showing any of these emergency warning signs of MIS-C or other concerning signs:

Trouble breathing

Pain or pressure in the chest that does not go away

New confusion

Inability to wake or stay awake

Bluish lips or face

Severe abdominal pain

How doctors will care for your child

Doctors may do certain tests to look for inflammation or other signs of disease. These tests might include:

Blood tests

Chest x-ray

Heart ultrasound (echocardiogram)

Abdominal ultrasound

Doctors may provide supportive care for symptoms (medicine and/or fluids to make your child feel better) and may use various medicines to treat inflammation. Most children who become ill with MIS-C will need to be treated in the hospital. Some will need to be treated in the pediatric intensive care unit (ICU).
Parents or caregivers who have concerns about their child's health, including concerns about COVID-19 or MIS-C, should call a pediatrician or other healthcare provider immediately. Healthcare providers can follow CDC recommendations to keep children and their parents or caregivers safe if an in-person visit is needed.

What we don't know about MIS-C

CDC is still learning about MIS-C and how it affects children, so we don't know why some children have gotten sick with MIS-C and others have not. We also do not know if children with certain health conditions are more likely to get MIS-C. These are among the many questions CDC is working to try to understand.
All CDC recommendations are based on the best data and science available at the time, and we will update them as we learn more.

What CDC is doing to learn more

CDC has a team dedicated to investigate MIS-C and gather and communicate information quickly to healthcare providers, parents and caregivers, as well as state and local health departments. The team is working with U.S. and international scientists, healthcare providers, and other partners to learn more about this new syndrome. They are learning about how often it happens and who is likely to get it, creating a system to track cases, and providing guidance to parents and healthcare providers.
Some of the specific actions CDC has taken:

Released a Health Advisory on May 14, 2020, through the Health Alert Network. In this advisory, CDC alerted healthcare providers about MIS-C, issued the case definition that it developed with the Council of State, Tribal, and Territorial Epidemiologists, and recommended that healthcare providers report suspected cases of MIS-C to local, state, or territorial health departments. The information the clinicians and health departments provide will help us understand this new condition and how common it is.

Collaborated with public health agencies around the world to share information and knowledge about cases of MIS-C in other countries.

Sent a field team to New York, the first state to report cases of MIS-C, to help health officials investigate the cases.

Set up a method for state and local health departments to report cases of MIS-C .

Asked clinical research and surveillance networks at children's hospitals that we work with to collect data on cases of MIS-C.

Began communicating information about what we know, what we don't know, and what we are doing to learn more to support healthcare providers, parents, and caregivers.

Collaborated with other federal agencies, clinical, and professional societies.

How to protect your child from COVID-19

Based on what we know now about MIS-C, the best way you can protect your child is by taking everyday actions to prevent your child and the entire household from getting the virus that causes COVID-19.

SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/children/mis-c.html
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♥️ Jods