Body reaction ‘Post Covid, many kids suffering from other diseases’

New Delhi: Doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Safdarjung Hospital have claimed that some Covid-19 positive children have shown a serious condition called multiorgan inflammatory syndrome and other serious diseases in the last six months. The other serious diseases include respiratory problem among children aged between one and 10, lung infection and nasal infection post-Covid.

Talking to The Sunday Guardian, Dr Arun Kumar Meena, a pediatrician from Safdarjung Hospital, said, “In the last six months, I have treated several Covid children with leukemia, respiratory problem, lung infection, among others.”

Describing about a patient, he said, “In May, Sarita (name changed) was admitted to the hospital for delivery. She and her son tested coronavirus positive. Later, the baby was diagnosed with a lung infection (empyema) and he died within a few days.”

He further said, “A baby named Aman (5) (name changed) was admitted to the hospital for a liver infection in June. He had also contracted Covid. However, he has been doing well, but there is a risk of life as he grows older.”

“Leukemia, along with Covid, has been noticed in children between the age group of 1 to 10 years in the last six months,” he said, adding that nasal infection has also been experienced among children during post Covid stage.

Doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital experienced an increased number of “Strawberry tongue” in India.

Dr Dhirendra Gupta, pediatrician at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, told The Sunday Guardian, “Strawberry tongue is a Kawasaki type disease where an illness is caused by inflammation in arteries, veins, and capillaries. We have reported around 100 cases of Strawberry tongue, irrespective of children and elder patients, in our hospital. Most of them are patients recovered from coronavirus.”

He further added that though the disease is mainly found in children, they are experiencing it in young and adult patients who have recovered from Covid-19. “It is a body reaction after contracting the virus,” said Gupta.

“When triggered by Covid, Strawberry tongue patients are admitted in ICU and treated accordingly,” Dr Gupta claimed.

He said that after admitting the patients in ICU, “we are administering steroids and immune-globin and it takes five to six days to cure.”