The All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi has recorded the first case of coronavirus-induced brain nerve damage in a 11-year-old girl, the Hindustan Times reported on Monday. The brain nerve damage has led to her experiencing blurred vision.

“We have found Covid-19 infection-induced Acute Demyelinating Syndrome in an 11-year-old girl,” a draft of a report being prepared by the doctors in the child neurology department of the hospital said. “This is the first case that has been reported in the paediatric age group.”

Acute Demyelinating Syndrome or ADS causes health conditions that damage myelin, a protective layer that covers the brain nerves, as well as damage brain signals. The syndrome also affects neurological functions such as vision, muscle movement, senses, bladder and bowel movement.

“This girl had come to us with a loss of vision,” Dr Sheffali Gulati, chief of child neurology division, department of paediatrics at AIIMS said. “The MRI showed ADS, which is a new manifestation. However, we now know that the virus majorly affects the brain and the lungs. We plan to publish this case report since we have established that her condition was Covid-19 induced.”

The child, who was under the supervision of Dr Gulati, improved with immunotherapy. She was discharged from hospital after she regained about 50% of her vision, the Hindustan Times reported.

Doctors at AIIMS are also treating another girl, aged 13, who had fever and encephalopathy, which is swelling of the brain. The doctors are attempting to determine whether the swelling in her brain was a result of the coronavirus.

Children with the coronavirus have also been known to suffer from epilepsy, encephalitis, Kawasaki-like disease and Guillain-barre syndrome, the Hindustan Times report said.

“We can sense the problem, as our telemedicine helpline meant for children with neurological issues is receiving around 25 calls a day on an average, as compared to about 10 calls earlier,” Dr Gulati said. “This is going to be a huge problem, as we are also treating non-Covid-19 children with neurological conditions, who need immediate attention.”

Common symptoms of coronavirus include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhoea, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

India’s tally of coronavirus cases rose to 75,97,063 on Tuesday with 46,790 new infections in 24 hours. This is the lowest single-day jump in fresh cases since the end of July. On July 23, India had recorded 45,720 cases in one day. The country’s toll, meanwhile, rose by 587 to 1,15,197.

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