11 cases of rare COVID-19 related condition in children in Washington state

— from Washington Department of Health —

OLYMPIA — Today the Department of Health (DOH) announced there are now 11 cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19 in Washington state. MIS-C is a rare but serious condition first identified by health care providers in the United Kingdom in late April.

An MIS-C case is defined as a patient under the age of 21 with a fever, laboratory evidence of inflammation and severe illness involving more than two organs that requires hospitalization. To meet the definition, patients must have no other plausible diagnoses as well as a positive COVID-19 test or exposure to a confirmed case in the four weeks before their symptoms began.

“While MIS-C is very rare, parents should be aware it can happen and contact their health care provider if their children develop new or unusual symptoms,” said Dr. Kathy Lofy, state health officer for DOH. “We are tracking this issue closely and continue to ask health care providers to be on the lookout and immediately report possible cases to local health.”

In Washington, six MIS-C cases are nine years old or younger, and five are 10 or older. The counties reporting MIS-C cases are:

• Franklin: 2
• King: 3
• Skagit: 1
• Snohomish: 2
• Yakima: 3

The race/ethnicity of MIS-C cases in Washington is:

• 55 percent Hispanic
• 18 percent white
• 9 percent Black
• 9 percent Asian
• 9 percent American Indian or Alaska Native

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently published an analysis of MIS-C in the United States, where 40 states have reported a total of 570 cases.