Kids’ Severe COVID-19 Reaction Bears Unique Immune Signature

The rare complication known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) differs from both Kawasaki disease and severe adult cases of COVID-19, a study finds.

| 4 min read
a child in a hospital bed

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
4:00
Share

ABOVE: © ISTOCK.COM, STUDIO9

For months now during the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors have observed a rare but consistent scenario in a small number of kids: It starts with a SARS-CoV-2 infection, which can be mild, even asymptomatic. But weeks after the children seem to have fully recovered, they suddenly come down with symptoms that may include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and severe abdominal pain.

“They had the infection, they got through it. And then all of a sudden . . . they can have this collapse in their bodies a few weeks later,” says Alvaro Moreira, a neonatologist at the University of Texas Health San Antonio who recently coauthored a review on the condition, known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

MIS-C is rare, and not all children who become severely ill or die from COVID-19 develop it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fewer than ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • Shawna Williams

    Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate and science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo
New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

New Frontiers in Vaccine Development

Sino

Products

Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide

Explore a Concise Guide to Optimizing Viral Transduction

A Visual Guide to Lentiviral Gene Delivery

Takara Bio
Inventia Life Science

Inventia Life Science Launches RASTRUM™ Allegro to Revolutionize High-Throughput 3D Cell Culture for Drug Discovery and Disease Research

An illustration of differently shaped viruses.

Detecting Novel Viruses Using a Comprehensive Enrichment Panel

Twist Bio