Thailand’s DDC says boy with Covid-19 who died also had MIS-C

The DDC said today that a young child who died in central Thailand this week, who had Covid-19, also had Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. The DDC’s director-general, Dr Opart Karnkawinpong, said doctors at Pathum Thani Hospital tried their best to save the six year old boy. He said they couldn’t save him because he also had MIS-C, and was unvaccinated against COVID.

MIS-C is a rare post-Covid condition mostly found in children. Last year, 30-40 Thai children had the condition. The symptoms children experience included abdominal pain, nausea, rashes, diarrhoea, and conjunctivitis as well as a fever lasting more than a day and over 38 degrees Celsius. The inflammation can affect hearing, blood vessels, and other organs. Dr Opart said that getting children vaccinated can help protect them from MIS-C.

Following Thailand’s five-day holiday, the country is seeing a spike in new and serious Covid infections. As of July 17, the number of daily deaths increased to 21 on average, up from 16 on July 5. The number of patients requiring the use of ventilators jumped from 300 per day at the beginning of the month to 369 now.

While there have been reports of around 2,000-3,000 cases being reported every day, some doctors have claimed that the actual number of current infections is more like 20,000 to 30,000 per day. While most infections have been with the BA.5 subvariant, Thailand has today detected the latest sub-variant, BA 2.75, in the southern Thai province of Trang.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World