Doctors say need to be vigilant against rare post-Covid inflammatory syndrome among children as Pune hospitals set up paediatric Covid units

There is a dedicated six bedded Covid PICU and NICU with ventilators apart from a team of experts for management of post-Covid Inflammatory syndrome among children.

2 min readPuneUpdated: May 9, 2021 01:20 PM IST

Usually children suffer diarrhoea, loss of appetite and fever as common signs of Covid-19, unlike adults who suffer weakness, body pain, fever, loss of smell and taste, experts said. (Representational)

With the Maharashtra government setting up a paediatric Covid task force to deal with cases of Covid among children, dedicated paediatric Covid units have been set up in Pune.

Dr Jitendra Oswal, deputy medical superintendent at Bharati hospital, said that apart from a paediatrician manning the unit, the hospital also had its Covid delivery facility and a unit for RT-PCR and antigen tests for newborns and even 18 year olds.

There is a dedicated six bedded Covid PICU and NICU with ventilators apart from a team of experts for management of post-Covid Inflammatory syndrome among children.

A nine-member State task force has recommended setting up fever clinics with paediatricians or trained staff to screen children with Covid symptoms. Usually children suffer diarrhoea, loss of appetite and fever as common signs of Covid-19, unlike adults who suffer weakness, body pain, fever, loss of smell and taste, experts said.

Read | Paediatric task force: Plan to set up clinics for screening, paediatric units in jumbo centres

According to Dr Oswal when Pune was its peak on April 8 with more than 7000 cases, at least 7 per cent – 8 per cent of Covid positive cases were children.

“Now we should be vigilant of post-Covid inflammatory syndrome among children, a rare but serious condition which typically presents after 4-6 weeks of Covid peak…,” Dr Oswal said.

According to reports, of 48.93 lakh Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, 10 per cent cases have been reported among under-20 years of age.

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“Even if we consider 0.1% will have inflammatory syndrome then we will have 489 children in Maharashtra alone. Most paediatricians are not aware of diagnosis and treatment of this condition. We have treated around 31 children with inflammatory syndrome,” he said, adding that they needed medicines like IV immunoglobulin plus Methylprednisolone in most cases and Tocilizumab in few cases.

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Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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