SARASOTA, Fla. -- A Sarasota couple said their 6-month-old tested positive for COVID-19 after they contracted the virus.
Bradley Lewellen said he got sick earlier this month. He tested positive for COVID-19 in June. He said his wife, Jessica, got sick after him.
"I got the virus first. I started feeling ill on June 2. I just felt really, really warm and a little achy and the only thing I had was really a fever," said Bradley Lewellen.
His wife had more serious symptoms including dizziness, fever, aches and loss of smell and taste.
"I still don't have my taste and smell back yet," said Jessica Lewellen.
Their 6-month-old son, David, developed a rash on his back. The couple took him to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. They said their son tested positive for COVID-19.
"They told us to treat it like the flu because he's so young. So if he spikes a fever or whatever to give him the Tylenol and alternate it with Motrin," said Bradley.
The couple said their son only had a rash and no other symptoms.
"All of it was warm to the touch and it started to creep around his rib cage a little on his chest," said Bradley.
The CDC is investigating reports of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) being linked to COVID-19, which may have symptoms similar to the Kawasaki disease.
According to the American Heart Association, children were initially thought to be largely spared from the COVID-19 illness, but children are presenting symptoms.
These include fever, significant abdominal pain and some features of Kawasaki disease (red eyes, red tongue, swollen hands/feet, rash).
"Just because your child has a rash doesn't mean that they have COVID. The reason why we tested him was because of how severe and how quickly this rash appeared," said Bradley.
The couple has two other children who have not been tested but are not showing any symptoms.
For more information about COVID-19 and infants visit: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-in-babies-and-children/art-20484405
