Health Authorities to Activate Surveillance System for 'Children's Mysterious Syndrome' Next Week

Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (Director of the National Institute of Health) [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The quarantine authorities will activate a surveillance system for the so-called 'children's mysterious syndrome' starting next week.

On the 23rd, Kwak Jin, head of the Patient Management Team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH), stated at a regular briefing held at the Osong Disease Control Headquarters in Chungbuk, "We are receiving expert consultations to apply the surveillance methods, case definitions, and investigation approaches presented and operated by Europe, the United States, and the World Health Organization regarding pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome to domestic settings."

He added, "Once the consultation is completed, we will finalize the domestic surveillance and investigation methods so that surveillance and investigations can begin next week."

Kwon Jun-wook, deputy head of the CDCH, explained, "Even now, all pediatric specialists in the country are instructed to immediately contact the authorities if they suspect even a slight case of this syndrome."

The children's mysterious syndrome, known as pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, was first reported in Europe last month and has spread to 13 countries as of the 23rd. In the United States, the number of states with cases increased from 17 last week to 25 in less than a week, raising concerns.

This disease presents symptoms such as high fever, rash, and conjunctival injection, and in severe cases can lead to death, but its exact cause has not yet been identified.

Some voices have suggested a connection between the children's mysterious syndrome and the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). A 14-year-old boy who died on the 13th in the United Kingdom and a 9-year-old child who died on the 15th in France, both showing symptoms of the syndrome, tested positive for COVID-19.

However, no correlation between COVID-19 and this syndrome has been confirmed to date. The children's mysterious syndrome does not accompany symptoms such as pulmonary disease or respiratory distress, and some patients test negative for COVID-19.

Nevertheless, as cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome continue to emerge, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged health workers worldwide on the 15th (local time) to remain vigilant regarding this disease.

So far, no cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome have been reported domestically. No confirmable link with COVID-19 has been found yet.

According to the quarantine authorities, as of midnight today, among 11,165 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country, 783 are aged 19 or younger, accounting for about 7% of the total. Of these, 634 (5.7%) are aged 10?19, and 149 (1.33%) are aged 0?9, including infants, toddlers, kindergarteners, and lower-grade elementary school students.