5-year-old British Girl Diagnosed With 'COVID-linked' Kawasaki Disease Recovers

"You never expect to need your child’s life saving and I owe them everything. This disease is treatable when caught fast- it’s a battle but treatable."

After an intense battle in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Leeds Children’s Hospital in the UK from a Kawasaki inflammatory response, 5-year-old Scarlett is now recovering and ready to head home, according to her mum Naomi Roberts.

“This little lady is going home. Back in a few days for more tests but I cannot believe her life was saved last week,” wrote Roberts in a recent Facebook update (21 May).

In a series of older posts, she described Scarlett’s recovery from Kawasaki disease as “remarkable“, as compared to her condition just a week ago: she was hit by a multi-organ failure and developed heart problems.

5-year-old Girl Recovers

And the mum believes that it would not have been possible without the “quick action” of the hospitals, Mid Yorkshire Hospital Trust and Leeds Children’s Hospital.

Scarlett, a 5-year-old girl recovers and ready to head home. | Photo: Naomi Roberts / Facebook

“You never expect to need your child’s life saving and I owe them everything. This disease is treatable when caught fast- it’s a battle but treatable.”

Roberts also seeks to warn about Kawasaki disease that could be a post-coronavirus infection disease whereby the body’s immune system overreacts due to the infection, according to doctors at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris.

“Be aware of this very rare complication of corona [sic]. We never expected it to happen to us,” she said.

And that was despite Scarlett being “fit and well” after recovering from the coronavirus which she contracted in school before the lockdown in the UK.

Photo: Naomi Roberts / Facebook

Although now Scarlett “is slowly walking with some support”, there is still a long journey ahead according to her mum.

“There will be a longer rehabilitation stage due to anaemia and this disease is known to create long viral fatigue.”

There are also multiple follow-ups to be done: “She still has her working cannula and central line for blood and in case she needs a transfusion. She also needs an echo today and follows up echo,” said Roberts.

Still, the mum has faith in Scarlett’s recovery because “she is so robust.”

Kawasaki Disease and Coronavirus

Health officials in several countries like the UK, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium and Switzerland have reported a rise in cases resembling the Kawasaki disease in kids, and all these kids were exposed to the coronavirus.

The number of such cases is gradually increasing and medical experts are investigating the link between the two. In the UK, Kawasaki disease-type of symptoms were reported in at least 12 children, and in France, about 20 children between 3 to 17 years of age were showing symptoms associated with the Kawasaki disease.

Doctors at the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital in Paris believe that it might be a post-coronavirus infection disease, where the body’s immune system overreacts due to the infection. Although Damien Bonnet, Head of the Department of Paediatric Medical Cardiology, says that the disease mostly followed COVID-19, he also added that there is no certainty that there is a direct link between the coronavirus and the symptoms of the Kawasaki disease that were found in the children.

The World Health Organisation is investigating the possibilities of the link between COVID-19 and Kawasaki disease.

In Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said no children who have contracted COVID-19 has suffered from serious inflammatory symptoms.

COVID-19 has infected 57 children aged 16 and younger—in Singapore—since the outbreak began in January. All children who tested positive for the virus infection had either mild or no symptoms, the health agency added.

MOH said none has had to be in the intensive care unit.

As of 6 May, 42 of these cases involving children have recovered.

Jia Ling

Kawasaki diseasecoronavirusCOVID-19kawasaki inflammatory disease