Ivan Radic / CC
Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says the state continues to see an increasing number of cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, associated with COVID-19 among young people. Billioux says the most common symptoms of this syndrome include GI issues, including nausea and diarrhea.
“But right after that, about half of children also have prominent respiratory problems and then a rash and having some redness of the eyes and heart problems,” said Billioux.
On Monday, the state reported a fourth death linked to MIS-C. As of August 10, the number of confirmed MIS-C cases in Louisiana has risen to 44. To date, infants as young as 1 month and teens up to 19 years of age have received MIS-C diagnoses in Louisiana. Billioux says the length of time the ailment can impact a child varies depending on the severity of the case.
“Sometimes, when someone has a big inflammatory reaction, their blood pressure can fall and so making sure children have fluids sometimes giving medications that bring their blood pressures up are the main things we are doing for them,” said Billioux.
Billioux says about 40% of children with MIS-C have heart inflammation, adding that there are still studies being conducted to determine what is the cause.
“Across a variety of different viruses, sometimes we see that the actual virus is infiltrating and causing problems in the muscles. Sometimes it is the immune system’s response that seems to be driving the response. We’re not quite sure what is going on,” said Billioux.
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