FIRST CASE OF MIS-C
Public Information Release
First Case of MIS-C in Madison County
December 21, 2020
The first case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) has been reported in the
county. The patient is a 14-year-old Madison County resident who is now at home recovering after a
hospital stay. MIS-C is a syndrome that was identified earlier this year where different body parts
become inflamed including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
Madison County Health Commissioner Chris Cook explained that the syndrome is directly connected to
COVID-19. “We know that 99% of the kids who have been diagnosed with MIS-C tested positive for
COVID-19. The other 1% had close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19,” he said. MIS-C is a very
serious condition that typically results in hospitalization. Most children who are diagnosed with MIS-C
improve with targeted and specialized medical care, but the long-term effects are still unknown.
Cook said that it is important to realize that MIS-C is a syndrome that develops in response to a COVID19 infection. “MIS-C itself is not something that can be passed from person to person. But the virus
that sickens us with COVID-19 can then cause MIS-C in kids. We know that COVID-19 is easily passed
from person to person through inhaled respiratory droplets and aerosols,” he noted.
Cook encouraged parents who have children that test positive for COVID-19, or who have been around a
positive case, to monitor them closely for rapid changes in their condition. Parents should contact their
doctor immediately or seek emergency care if their children begin showing symptoms of MIS-C which
include fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes, or extreme tiredness.
Since mid-May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified 1,288 cases of MIS-C
in the United States. Twenty-three of these children died. Nearly all cases have been between the ages
of 1 and 14 with an average age of 8 years old. A total of 37 cases of MIS-C have been reported in Ohio
since May. Most children develop MIS-C in the two to four weeks after they are infected with COVID-19.
Cook says that research is ongoing to try to determine why some children get MIS-C and others do not.
“Right now, we don’t know if there are certain existing health conditions that make one person more
likely to get MIS-C than another. Until we know that, every single parent needs to be aware of what to
look for and remember that COVID-19 is serious at any age.”
Get your news from trustworthy sources during the pandemic. For daily updates, please visit covid.madisonph.org and coronavirus.ohio.gov.
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