…Health Ministry monitoring for the development of inflammatory syndrome as a result
Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anothny says that his ministry confirmed on Sunday that a total of 5,594 children have tested positive for COVID-19 in Guyana over a period of time. He said that these tests were confirmed by PCR tests.
The Ministry is now monitoring children with past cases of COVID-19 for the possible development of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C), which is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Several children have also died of Covid-19. Only last week a seven-month-old boy succumbed to the disease.
Scientists are still learning about what causes MIS-C. However, what they know is that many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID-19. MIS-C can be serious, even deadly, but most children who were diagnosed with this condition have gotten better with medical care.
Minister Anthony said that Guyana has not yet noted a case of MIS-C but is closely monitoring for any developments.
“Within this age group, we are seeing persons or children testing positive. Because I think for some people it’s a myth that children are not going to be positive and things like that. That’s far from the truth MIS in children is something that was first observed in Europe and since then paediatricians around the world have been asked to keep a close eye on this. So, when you see children who test positive for COVID or even if they have a history of COVID. The idea is to look for the signs and symptoms of MIS,” he said.
As it stands, over 26,000 children have received their first shot of the Pfizer vaccine and over 17,000 have received their second.
