Tag: Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki Disease: A 50 year old mystery

By Stephanie Menikou, PhD student, Faculty of Medicine

picture2Kawasaki disease (KD) was first identified in 1967 by the Japanese paediatrician Tomisaku Kawasaki. He saw his first case in 1960 and over a period of six years he identified 50 cases of this distinct unusual illness.1 50 years later, we still don’t know its cause, or whether it is caused by an infectious organism, a toxin, a chemical substance or something else. Kawasaki disease has emerged as the most common cause of childhood heart disease in many developed countries.2 Over 60 countries around the globe have reported cases and currently in many countries it’s on the rise. The highest incidence rate currently recorded is in Japan with 264.8/100 000 children, followed by South Korea (134.4/100 000) and Taiwan (74.9/100 000).3 The incidence rate reported in most European countries is somewhat lower (<16/100 000).4

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