A mysterious disease could be related to the coronavirus in children: this is what you should know

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Children hospitalized with symptoms of covid-19 0:31

(CNN) - A mysterious disease that is affecting children and could be related to the coronavirus has put authorities on alert and looking for answers as infections increase.

Doctors refer to the condition that has brought dozens of children to the hospital as "pediatric multisystemic inflammatory syndrome," and health officials believe it may be related to the coronavirus. Three children died of this condition in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.

READ: What is Kawasaki disease? A rare syndrome in children could be related to covid-19

New York is investigating whether the cases contradict the idea that children are less at risk of contracting the coronavirus and what other hospitals should consider, Cuomo said.

This is what you should know:

What are the symptoms?

Pediatric multisystemic inflammatory syndrome does not show the characteristics of the coronavirus in children who have been diagnosed, Cuomo said. He has symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome.

Kawasaki disease causes inflammation in the walls of the arteries and can limit blood flow to the heart. It produces a high temperature that lasts more than five days, a rash, inflammation of the neck glands, chapped lips, swelling of the hands and feet, and redness in both eyes.

Children under 5 are the most affected and although it can be fatal, it is treatable. Kawasaki disease is one of the leading causes of acquired heart conditions in the United States, with complications including an enlarged coronary artery and aneurysms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). .

Toxic shock syndrome, meanwhile, is caused by a toxin produced by some forms of staph bacteria and involves fever, seizures, and problems with various organs in the body, according to the US National Library of Medicine. USA

READ: Rare childhood disease related to coronavirus was also detected in the United States

The difference in symptoms could be attributed to the fact that pediatric multisystemic inflammatory syndrome is a second phase of coronavirus disease, pediatrician Dr. Glenn Budnick said on CNN's Newsroom on Saturday.

"Your immune system is overreacting to the virus, and because these are inflammatory diseases, this overreaction can cause a disease similar to Kawasaki's," said Budnick.

How widespread are the infections?

The New York State Department of Health is studying the cases of 85 children, Cuomo said Sunday.

Most of them were positive for coronavirus or had positive antibody tests.

Elsewhere, Seattle has reported a case in a healthy teenager who developed shock symptoms that sent him to the intensive care unit, according to CNN affiliate KIRO. A team at Stanford Children's Hospital in California has also reported a case.

Similar cases have been reported internationally.

A small number of children in the UK recently became ill with the rare syndrome that could be related to the coronavirus, pediatric specialists said. Cases like these have also been reported in Italy and Spain. Abdominal pain, gastrointestinal symptoms and heart inflammation are common in those cases, UK experts said.

What do the authorities say?

While the cases remain only in the dozens, Cuomo called for surveillance.

"It is still a situation that is developing, but it is a serious situation," Cuomo said.

The New York Department of Health is in communication with CDC and federal authorities about the cases, and CDC has asked the state to develop national criteria so that health professionals across the country know what to look for, he said.

To better understand the situation, the health department is working with the New York Genome Center and Rockefeller University to carry out a genome and RNA sequencing study, Cuomo said.

The potential risk to children comes at a time of heightened anxiety, as the coronavirus has killed more than 79,000 people across the country.

"We worked under the impression that youth were not affected by covid-19," said Cuomo. "We are no longer so sure that that is the reality."

CNN Faith Karimi and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.

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