
Cuomo calls for investigation into disease that has sickened 73 kids statewide

A rare inflammatory disease linked to COVID-19 has sickened 73 children in New York, including two dozen on Long Island, and claimed the lives of two young boys from New York City and Westchester, state and local officials said Friday.
State Department of Health officials this week urged hospitals to immediately report cases of "pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome potentially associated with COVID-19," and to test the children for the coronavirus.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday said this opens up "an entirely different chapter" in the state's battle against the coronavirus. He has ordered an investigation.
"This is every parent's nightmare, right?," Cuomo said at a news conference in Poughkeepsie. "That your child may actually be affected by this virus. But it's something we have to consider seriously now."
The disease, similar to Kawasaki disease and toxic shock syndrome, appears to stem from the kids’ immune systems' response to the coronavirus infection, leading to inflammation of blood vessels and complications that include inflamed heart muscles and breathing problems, medical officials said. The syndrome has been reported primarily in children ages 4 to 12.
Similar cases have been reported in the United Kingdom, state officials said.
Cuomo on Friday directed the state health department to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the illness and determine whether New York's cases are associated with the syndrome.
"With each passing day we're learning more about this terrible virus, and this potentially new development requires even greater understanding," state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said. "We'll devote the resources of the department to research each potential case and share our findings with health care providers around the state and country."
Symptoms of the disease include a prolonged fever of more than five days; difficulty feeding infants; severe abdominal pain, diarrhea or vomiting; a change in skin color becoming pale, patchy or blue in tone; chest pain and difficulty breathing; decreased urination, lethargy, confusion and irritability, officials said.
A 7-year-old boy died last week at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla after suffering neurological complications from inflammatory syndrome, Westchester officials said. On Thursday, a 5-year-old boy died in New York City from similar COVID-related complications, Cuomo said.
Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said she has directed the county health department to track reports of children with persistent fever, toxic shock or similar features associated with Kawasaki disease.
“Well over 99 percent of kids do very well with COVID, but parents should be observant and — especially if COVID has been in the household and a child starts to develop a high fever, abdominal pain, rash," said Dr. Larry Eisenstein, Nassau's health commissioner.
Roughly 25 children have been treated for the syndrome at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, and most previously had been healthy, according to Dr. James Schneider, the hospital's chief of pediatric critical care. Most of the pediatric patients, Schneider said, have required critical care treatment.
The syndrome is emerging in some cases a few weeks after a child is believed to have contracted coronavirus, and some of the kids with the syndrome tested negative for COVID-19 but positive for antibodies that the body creates in response to the virus, Schneider said.
With Candice Ferrette, David Olson and Mark Tyrrell