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IRELAND’S CHIEF MEDICAL officer Dr Tony Holohan has said the cases of seven children in the country have been investigated for links to the Kawasaki-like inflammatory syndrome associated with Covid-19.
Medics in several countries have reported seeing a “multi-system inflammatory syndrome” in children in a small number of cases during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of this syndrome are consistent with rare condition Kawasaki disease. This is a condition which manly affects children under 5, and can cause a rash, swollen glands, dry cracked lips, red fingers or toes or red eyes.
In an alert issued to British GPs last month, it noted a rise in such cases and a similar warning was issued by health authorities in New York this month. Last weekend, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said three young people in the state may have died of the “Covid-related illness”.
The World Health Organization put out an alert about the potential links between the syndrome and Covid-19 on 28 April, which was acknowledged by health authorities here including Holohan. At that stage, no suspected cases of this condition had been identified.
However, at the daily Department of Health briefing tonight, the chief medical officer said a rapid alert had been issued by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and that authorities would raise awareness of this possible syndrome among all health staff.
Holohan also said that up to seven children in Ireland had been investigated for links to this particular disease.
Kawasaki disease is a very rare condition affecting around 15 in every 100,000 children in Ireland generally. Doctors have been investigating if recent cases of symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease are related to the pandemic.
A study published this week in The Lancet says that there is an association between the Covid-19 outbreak and this inflammatory condition, specifically in relation to a small number of cases cases opbserved in Italy.
The researchers do caution, however, that their study is based on a small number of cases and larger studies will be needed to confirm this association.
They also warn that other countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic might expect to see a similar rise in cases similar to Kawasaki Disease.
In this week’s episode of TheJournal.ie‘s The Explainer podcast, we look at what this syndrome is, the most up-to-date information on it and what Irish medical experts have to say.
The Explainer / SoundCloud
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So Truck drivers Hours are monitored for safety reasons BUT Doctors are allowed work All the hours under the Sun to the Detriment of patients wellbeing,Mmmmmmmm
@Larry Rawson: you wouldn’t let someone who hasn’t slept for three days service your car, but you are expected to put your life in their hands.
Why is this practice not addressed yes, as Junior Doctors working unsafe long hours is going on for years. Perhaps the Medical Consultants should now support the these people as most of the Juniors are filling in for them.
Successive Irish governments have been quite happy paying millions in fines rather than implement the european working time directive. These men and women whom help keep us alive are being so badly mistreated for as long as I can remember it’s a total disgrace. Having worked in a hospital for 25 yrs and having a good few friends in the medical profession, I honestly don’t know how they have put up with it for so long. Is it any wonder our best trained people are leaving the country. It’s long past time to start treating them with a lot more respect.
This unsafe practice, working long hours by Junior doctors is going on for years. Why is this practice not addressed yet, perhaps they need more support from the Medical Consultants who they are usually filling in for most of the time.
@Laz Mahon: the person who came up with this system was addicted to cocaine and therefore had problems sleeping. Not safe for the doctors going home after the shift or their patients during.
The HSE / Department of Health needs to be overhauled, latest contact for consultants require them to be on call up to 10 pm during working week and 6 pm at weekend, words fail me
37 hr week for all. Commuting should be included in the 37. Overtime banned. Working from home prioritised.
@François Pignon:You wouldn’t happen to be french by any chance?
“The measures would see employers penalised for non-compliance” – So the HSE, and by proxy the DOH and the taxpayer.
There’s no incentive for reform, the punishment is borne by the taxpayer and the health system. It’s difficult not to see this as another small step towards further privatisation of more and more of the health system. Slaintecare has been a joke, in a long line of sick jokes since the formation of the HSE from the regional health by board model (which we’re now returning to but under the HSE naming)
@Brendan Gordon: Here’s the thing Brendan. The old health board system worked better. It was more accountable at a local level. One of the reasons the HSE was established was to cut out a layer of management. Instead it added more layers and became more bureaucratic.
@Declan Moran: Oh I know, and the return to the regional health board system will add another layer of useless bureaucracatic dregs again. I was a swabber and applied for some higher roles and saw first hand how the slaintecare rollout is basically being treated as a gravy train for those short on useful skills and competencies but who know not to rock the boat. Everyone is covering for everyone else lest they be rumbled that a single competent professional could handle the workload of an entire department of domesticated apes
All this will do is increase wait times. They get paid enough. They know what they signed up for
@Colin Mahony: A person sleep deprived is more likely to crash than someone over the limit. Would like an intoxicated person doing/ assisting in a surgery on you or a loved one. Or indeed prescribing you/ administing medicine. Or even diagnosing you?? Imagine being treated for the wrong aliment because the doctor attending to you is finishing a 24hour shift and wasn’t/ couldn’t have been thinking straight. I think your position is out of complete ignorance of what been sleep deprived does to the mind and body.
@Colin Mahony: Colin , how will this increase wait times, Im curious to know?
have your say