2 suspected inflammatory syndrome cases turned out to be Kawasaki disease: KCDC

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- Two suspected cases of an unknown inflammatory syndrome in children in South Korea turned out to be Kawasaki disease, health authorities here said Wednesday, amid concerns that the disease may be linked to the novel coronavirus.

The two children -- a 4-year-old girl and a 11-year-old boy -- were reported in Seoul last month for the first time for the disease, named Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). They have recovered from the disease.

The two children were confirmed to have suffered from the rare Kawasaki disease, a syndrome of unknown cause that results in a fever, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The disease occurs in 1 in 10,000 children under the age of 5.

"Both patients tested negative for COVID-19, and there are no particular factors to suspect the two children were exposed to the virus," KCDC Director Jeong Eun-kyung said in a daily briefing, adding the diagnosis was made in discussion with an advisory panel.

The MISC first emerged in Britain in late April. Hundreds of children in other parts of Europe, North America and Asia have since been treated in hospitals, with some cases leading to death.

The symptoms of MIS-C include inflammation of the blood vessels, swollen hands and feet, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea, which are similar to those of the Kawasaki disease,

khj@yna.co.kr
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