Grant County child found to have COVID-19 variant
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years AGO
Grant County Health Officer Alexander Brzezny at a Board of Health meeting.
Charles H. Featherstone/Columbia Basin Herald
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | March 8, 2021 1:01 AM
MOSES LAKE — The first case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, in Grant County has been confirmed.
The disease is associated with the COVID-19 virus.
The patient, a child younger than 10 years of age, spent several days in intensive care. The child is now stable and recovering at home, according to a press release from Grant County Health District.
The disease causes inflammation in the heart, lungs, brain, eyes and gastrointestinal organs.
“While the causes for MIS-C continue to be investigated, many children with MIS-C were infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 at the time of their illness,” the press release said.
Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, neck pain, bloodshot eyes or feeling very tired, GCHD stated. Symptoms can be mild or severe, and many patients require hospitalization.
The state has had 45 confirmed cases of MIS-C in the past year.
The definition of the disease includes a patient younger than 21 years of age, with a fever and laboratory evidence of inflammation, severe illness involving more than two organs and requiring hospitalization. The patient must have a positive coronavirus test or exposure to a person with a confirmed case within four weeks of the onset of symptoms. The patient also must have no other plausible diagnosis.
Grant County Health Officer Alexander Brzezny said MIS-C is rare, but children who contract it can become seriously ill. He urged county residents to continue precautions designed to combat the spread of the coronavirus, including frequent hand-washing, wearing masks and social distancing in public.
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