>>> AS WE MENTIONED, OVER 97,000
CHILDREN WERE CONFIRMED POSITIVE
FOR CORONAVIRUS IN JUST THE LAST
TWO WEEKS OF THE MONTH OF JULY.
AND DESPITE THE PRESIDENT
INSISTING CHILDREN ARE, QUOTE,
ALMOST IMMUNE FROM THE VIRUS AND
THAT THERE’S JUST A TINY
FRACTION OF DEATH AS HE WARMLY
PUT IT TODAY, HE EVEN ASSURED
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TODAY THAT
CHILDREN, QUOTE, GET BETTER VERY
QUICKLY.
THE PROBLEM IS A NEW CDC REPORT
WARNING CHILDREN ARE AT RISK FOR
SEVERE COVID-19.
WHILE THE HOSPITALIZATION RATE
FOR KIDS IS MUCH LOWER THAN
ADULTS, THE CDC REPORTS IT THIS
WAY.
QUOTE, ONE IN THREE HOSPITALIZED
CHILDREN WAS ADMITTED TO AN
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT.
THERE’S ALSO NEW REPORTING ON
NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS THAT SOME
INFECTED CHILDREN ARE
EXPERIENCING.
NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT WILLEM
MARX HAS OUR REPORT FROM LONDON
TONIGHT.
>> Reporter: 15-YEAR-OLD LEAH IS
A TYPICAL TEENAGER, BUT DOCTORS
SAY HER FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19
HAS BEEN ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY.
>> IT WAS REALLY SCARY.
I COULD HEAR VOICES AND STUFF.
IT WAS JUST -- IT WAS VERY
TRAUMATIC.
>> Reporter: THE VIRUS SEEMED TO
ATTACK HER LUNGS IN EARTHLY
APRIL, AND SHE SPENT TWO WEEKS
SEDATED ON A VENTILATOR.
SHE RECOVERED BUT THEN HER BRAIN
BECAME INFLATED, A CONDITION
CALLED ENCEPHALITIS.
>> THE ENCEPHALITIS FOR ME, IN
MY OPINION, IT WAS WORSE BECAUSE
IT WAS GIVING ME HALLUCINATIONS.
AND IT WAS JUST CRAZY.
>> Reporter: NIA’S MOTHER,
JUSTINA, SAID PARENT SHZ KNOW
THAT COVID-19 CAN RAVAGE NOT
ONLY THEIR CHILDREN’S BODIES BUT
ALSO THEIR MINDS.
>> I DON’T KNOW WHICH WAS
SCARIER, HER BEING ON THE
VENTILATOR AND NOT BEING ABLE TO
BREATHE OR THE FACT THAT SHE
CAME OUT OF IT WITH A COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT PERSONALITY.
>> Reporter: AT THIS LONDON
HOSPITAL, THE DOCTOR TREATING
NIA WAS DR. MING LIM.
>> IMAGINE NOT HAVING THE
ABILITY TO TALK OR STARTING TO
FEEL VERY DIFFICULT TO BREATHE,
LOSINGEING CONTROL OF YOUR BODIL
FUNCTIONS, WAKING UP, THINKING
YOUR WELL AND HAVING A SECOND
HIT OF THE BRAIN INFLAMMATION.
>> Reporter: HE SUCCESSFULLY
TREATED A HANDFUL OF COVID
LINKED CASES LIKE THIS BUT IS
CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE
IMPLICATIONS, LEPSESPECIALLY AMO
CHILDREN.
>> THE AMOUNT OF INFLAMMATION IS
PHENOMENAL.
HOW THAT WOULD NOT IMPACT THE
BRAIN, WE WOULD STRUGGLE TO
THINK OF.
WE WORRY THAT THE LONG-TERM
EFFECT WOULD BE IN ESSENTIALLY
BRAIN GROWTH.
>> Reporter: SINCE THE START OF
THE PANDEMIC, THE DAMAGE FROM
COVID-19 TO THE HEART AND LUNGS
IS WELL DOCUMENTED, BUT SEVERAL
RECENT STUDIES HAVE EXAMINED ITS
POTENTIAL THREAT TO THE BRAIN
TOO.
DR. MIKE ZANDY AT BRITAIN’S
NATIONAL HOSPITAL FOR
NEUROSURGERY AS HELPED LEAD THIS
RESEARCH EFFORT IN ADULTS.
>> WE CERTAINLY HAVE SEEN SOME
PATTERNS IN THE BRAIN SCANS WITH
INFLAMMATION THAT APPEARS NEW
AND WHERE WE DO FEEL THAT THERE
IS CONVINCING SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE THAT THE PATIENTS HAD
CORONAVIRUS VIRUS AND THEN THEY
HAD THIS PATTERN OF INFLAMMATION
AND THERE WAS NO OTHER
REASONABLE EXPLANATION.
>> Reporter: AS GLOBAL
CORONAVIRUS INFECTION NUMBERS
CONTINUE RISING, SEVERAL
NEUROLOGISTS IN THE UK AND U.S.
TOLD US THERE COULD BE A SECOND
WAVE OF NEUROLOGICAL SIDE
EFFECTS IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS.
>> I THINK IT’S ONLY GOING TO BE
A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE WE SEE
MORE AND MORE OF THESE CASES.
WE’VE CERTAINLY SEEN SOME, AND I
FEAR THAT WE ARE JUST AT THE
BEGINNING.
>> Reporter: NIA STILL SUFFERS
FROM FLASHBACKS AND STRUGGLES
WITH HER MEMORY.
A ONE-TWO PUNCH FROM CORONAVIRUS
NO ONE SAW COMING THAT DOCTORS
FEAR COULD CREATE A COMPLEX,