Pediatricians and the city’s Department of Health are warning parents of an inflammatory syndrome they believe is potentially linked with COVID-19.

Doctors are calling the illness multisystem inflammatory syndrome due to its ability to affect different areas of the body, usually causing inflammation of blood vessels.

Dr. Maria Ramirez, a pediatrician in the emergency room at St. Barnabas Hospital, says they started to hear about symptoms in children that were alarming.

“So far we had one case like this last week. In other hospitals in New York there has been more cases,” says Dr. Ramirez.

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According to health officials, 15 children have been hospitalized in New York City with multisystem inflammatory syndrome. Doctors like Ramirez say they are trying to understand.

“We’re not sure if we’re seeing cases of a typical Kawasaki disease during coronavirus or if it’s the coronavirus triggering this type of symptom,” says Dr. Ramirez.

The syndrome was first reported in Europe. Dr. Ramirez says children who have been hospitalized have shown similar symptoms to Kawasaki disease or shock syndrome. Kawaski disease is an autoimmune sickness that can be triggered by a viral infection.

“The presenting symptoms are fever, rashes, redness on the eye, severe belly pain in children. You can also see cracked lips and red swollen tongue,” says Dr. Ramirez.

More than half of the reported patients tested positive for coronavirus. Top health officials saying they’re working with hospitals to understand more.

For now, Dr. Ramirez is advising parents to not panic and seek medical attention if their children experience symptoms for more than a couple days.

“Now the Department of Health has issued this warning, we will keep track and will report back to them, so we can get enough data together to try to come up with a better explanation of what’s going on,” says Dr. Ramirez.