Recent topics in the epidemiology of Kawasaki disease

Abstract

The incidence rates of Kawasaki disease (KD) in Northeast Asians are almost 20 times those of whites. Incidence is higher among Japanese Americans than among other Asian Americans living in Hawaii, which indicates that genetic factors rather than environmental factors have the predominant role in the occurrence of KD in these populations. Approximately 10–15% of KD patients have persistent or recrudescent fever more than 36 h after the end of initial intravenous immunoglobulin infusion. KD is uncommon in adults, although the prevalences of specific diagnostic criteria are roughly similar in adults and children. The prevalence of coronary aneurysms is lower in adults than in children. Dr. Kawasaki saw the first case of typical KD in 1961. After he treated several more similar cases, the first epidemiologic survey of KD was conducted in 1970.