What CDC Is Doing About Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)

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CDC has a dedicated team investigating multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) to learn more about this syndrome and communicate information quickly to healthcare providers, parents and caregivers, as well as state, local and territorial health departments. The team is working with U.S. and international scientists, healthcare providers, and other partners to learn more about this new syndrome. They are learning about how often it happens and who is likely to get it, creating a system to track cases, and providing guidance to parents and healthcare providers.

Working with Partners

  • Building on existing partnerships across the country to identify additional cases of MIS-C associated with COVID-19, determine risk factors for MIS-C, and support healthcare providers as they care for sick patients.
  • Asking clinical research and surveillance data networks at children’s hospitals that we work with to collect and share data on cases of MIS-C.
  • Collaborating with public health agencies around the world to share information and knowledge about cases of MIS-C in other countries.

Preparing Healthcare Providers and Health Departments

  • Released a health advisory on May 14, 2020, through the Health Alert Network. In this advisory, CDC alerted healthcare providers about MIS-C, issued the case definition that was developed with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, and recommended that healthcare providers report suspected cases of MIS-C to local, state or territorial health departments. The information the clinicians and health departments provide will help us understand this new condition and how common it is.
  • Provided key information about MIS-C to inform clinical guidelines published by partners.
  • Hosted webinars for healthcare providers about MIS-C and how to take care of patients  with the condition.
  • Established a method for state and local health departments to report cases of MIS-C to CDC.

Conducting research and tracking MIS-C

  • Estimating the rates of MIS-C cases, and monitoring trends over time.
  • Identifying and evaluating risk factors for developing MIS-C associated with COVID-19, such as race/ethnicity, age, sex, medical history, and possible environmental exposures.
  • Describing the development of MIS-C and course of the illness.

Keeping Parents and Partners Informed

  • Communicating information about what we know, what we don’t know, and what we are doing to learn more to support healthcare providers, as well as parents and caregivers.
  • Conducting partner outreach activities and educational efforts to increase provider awareness of MIS-C.
  • Collaborating with other federal agencies, clinical, and professional societies.

CDC activities to investigate MIS-C are one piece of the CDC Response to COVID-19. For more information, visit our Responder Stories and read about CDC in Action.