First case of COVID-19 linked brain nerve damage in a child reported

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has reported the first case of COVID-19 induced brain nerve damage in a child, which led to blurred vision, as per a report.

The doctors in the child neurology division are preparing a report on her health condition that they plan to publish soon.

The reports from the doctors said that the 11-year-old child was found with Covid-19 infection induced Acute Demyelinating Syndrome (ADS). The nerves are covered with a protective layer called myelin that helps messages from the brains move quickly and smoothly through the body.

ADS include health conditions that damage myelin, brain signals and affect a gamut of neurological functions such as vision, muscle movement, senses, bladder and bowel movement etc.

The child was undergoing treatment and the condition was improved with immunotherapy and she was discharged from the hospital after about 50% of her vision was regained.

AIIMS authorities are also treating another Covid-19-positive teenager (13) girl after she had complained of fever and encephalopathy (swelling of brain). She is undergoing treatment and the doctors are still trying to ascertain whether her condition was induced by Covid-19.

Epilepsy, encephalitis, Kawasaki-like disease, Guillain-barre syndrome etc are the other common health complications that children, who tested Covid-19 positive, are known to suffer from.

Some of these brain conditions may adversely affect the long-term neurodevelopment. Hence these children need a regular follow-up treatment that can be a challenge for a country such as India where adequate resource is lacking.