Breakthrough could improve diagnosis and lead to development of treatment for condition that has baffled doctors for two years
In the first months after Covid emerged,, whose symptoms included lung disease, blood clotting and heart damage.
MCRI haematology researcher Conor McCafferty said blood samples were taken from 33 children affected by either multi-system inflammatory syndrome or acute respiratory distress syndrome after they contracted Covid-19.Children with Covid-19 who develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome often suffer from fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, skin rash, heart disease or conjunctivitis. Children who develop acute respiratory distress syndrome may suffer organ damage due to a lack of oxygen in the blood.
“Our research was the first to uncover the specific blood clotting and immune protein pathways impacted in children with Covid-19 who developed these serious symptoms,” McCafferty said. The findings were, on Monday, with researchers discovering 85 proteins specific to multisystem inflammatory syndrome and 52 linked to acute respiratory distress syndrome.
About 1.7% of children hospitalised with Covid-19 are admitted to intensive care. Most children who contract Covid-19 have mild or no symptoms.