Covid 19 coronavirus: Victorian boy hospitalised with post-virus illness

A young boy has been hospitalised after being diagnosed with an inflammatory disease known as Pims-TS after recovering from Covid 19. Photo / File

A 9-year-old Australian boy has been hospitalised with a rare inflammatory illness associated with Covid-19, after clinicians were urged to monitor for the condition.

At least three children have died after developing the disease across the globe.

The boy is in intensive care at Monash Hospital with Pims-TS (paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with Sars-CoV-2), The Age reports.

Safer Care Victoria issued an alert on Thursday to paediatric and emergency staff to consider the condition in children who present with fever, abdominal pain, rash and tachycardia – when the heart beats at a faster rate than normal.

"Pims-TS has been described in children in areas with high incidence of Sars-CoV-2 infection. Case incidence has been noted to increase in the months after Covid-19 peaks," Safer Care Victoria said.

"There are likely to be further – albeit rare – cases of Pims-TS in Australia in areas with higher Sars-CoV-2 transmission.

"Pims-TS occurs two to six weeks after infection with Sars-CoV-2.

"The median age is 9 years and it is more common in boys, those of ethnicities other than Anglo-European, and obese children."

According to data from the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services on Friday night, 48 boys and 37 girls under the age of 10 currently have Covid-19 in the state.