Maharashtra govt to keep data of kids who get multisystem condition after Covid

With rising cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C) after Covid-19 recovery, the state health department will maintain district-wise records of children diagnosed with the health condition

With rising cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C) after Covid-19 recovery, the state health department will maintain district-wise records of children diagnosed with the health condition. The decision was taken after the Central health department issued a directive to all states and Union territories to submit weekly data of MIS-C cases.

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Children after four-six weeks of recovering from Covid-19 are developing this condition where different body parts including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs suffer from inflammation. Doctors said though MIS-C can be fatal, most children get better with timely medical care.

Last year too, there were several cases of MIS-C. However, these cases almost doubled during the second wave due to the rise in Covid-19 infection among paediatric patients, said doctors. Since doctors are not liable to report the data to the state government, there is no centralised data available with the health department. As a result, the Central government has decided to form a registry to gauge its prevalence.

“At present, we don’t have cumulative data of MIS-C from all the districts. But according to a directive of the Central government issued on June 2, all states have been asked to submit the weekly data to the central health department. Thus, we will soon instruct the districts to submit the data,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer.

MIS-C has raised quite a concern among doctors. Doctors have observed that a majority of the children who suffer post-Covid syndromes belong to the five-14 age bracket. Many have cardiac-related issues, while asymptomatic and mildly infected patients are having post-Covid symptoms.

Doctors have welcomed the move of the Central government which would help in maintaining the district-wise centralised registry of MIS-C.

“This might help to understand the prevalence of MIS-C district-wise and formulate policies accordingly. Covid-19 is ever-evolving, and therefore it is a good idea to maintain data which can also help in further studies and researches,” said Dr Bakul Parekh, former president of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) and part of the paediatric Covid task force.