When a new and frightening illness appears in children, doctors need a shared language to identify it. This report details the creation of that shared language—the official case definition for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). MIS-C is a serious condition where different parts of a child's body become inflamed, and it has been associated with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The work was done by experts from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States. Their goal was to create a clear, standardized set of criteria that doctors and health departments across the country can use to decide if a sick child has MIS-C. This is crucial for accurate tracking and understanding of the illness.
It's important to know what this report is and isn't. It defines the illness; it does not report on how many children have had it, what causes it, how to treat it, or how well children recover. The report itself does not include any data on patient outcomes, safety, or the effectiveness of treatments. The case definition is a tool for public health surveillance, providing a consistent starting point for counting and investigating cases.