The Centers for Disease Control has recently identified Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), in which inner organs and other parts of the body, including the skin, become inflamed. The symptoms are similar to those associated with Kawasaki disease, which affects younger children and was first identified in Japan in 1967.
The cause of inflammation remains uncertain, but many cases occurred in children who had either tested positive for COVID-19 or had been exposed in some way to the virus. By mid-May, more than 100 cases had been reported in the state of New York, which, by that date, had reached its peak number of COVID-19 cases. MIS-C symptoms in children exposed to COVID-19 have been reported in other countries.