Health officials in Europe are warning about a rising number of cases of a rare inflammatory condition in children that might be linked to the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Britain’s Paediatric Intensive Care Society issued an alert from the National Health Service (NHS) England to doctors this week, explaining in the past three weeks there has been an increase in the number of children with “a multi-system inflammatory state requiring intensive care,” in London and other parts of the country.

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The health group said there was growing concern that a COVID-19 related syndrome was emerging in children, “or that there may be another as yet unidentified infectious pathogen associated with these cases.”

“The cases have in common overlapping features of toxic shock syndrome and atypical Kawasaki disease with blood parameters consistent with severe COVID-19 in children,” the statement said. “Abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms have been a common feature as has cardiac inflammation,” the statement read.

Kawasaki disease, also known as Kawasaki syndrome, is a rare childhood illness that causes the walls of blood vessels in the body to become inflamed. Symptoms include high temperature that lasts for five days or longer, redness in both eyes, rash and swollen glands in the neck. Children younger than five are most at risk, but the good news is that Kawasaki disease is usually treatable, and most children recover without serious problems.

Health officials said the condition has been observed in children who have tested positive for COVID-19, and others who have not, so scientists are unsure if the rare symptoms are caused by the new coronavirus or something else.

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An estimated 10 to 20 such cases have been reported in Britain, and NHS England said it was investigating the reports, according to the Associated Press (AP).

AP reports similar warnings have come from health officials in Spain and Italy, with Italian physicians reporting an unusual increase in the number of patients with Kawasaki disease, including some children who had COVID-19 or had contact with confirmed cases.

While children are among the most vulnerable when it comes to the flu or other coronaviruses, the virus that causes COVID-19 has largely spared children. A report released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said children diagnosed with coronavirus typically have mild cases.

“It is important to highlight that, both in the UK and in other countries, there have still been very few cases of critically unwell children with COVID-19 admitted to paediatric intensive care units,” Britain’s Paediatric Intensive Care Society (PICS) said in a statement.

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