Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1982 Apr;100(4):552-7.
doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(82)80751-8.

An epidemic of Kawasaki syndrome in Hawaii

A G Dean, M E Melish, R Hicks, N E Palumbo

An epidemic of Kawasaki syndrome in Hawaii

A G Dean et al. J Pediatr. 1982 Apr.

Abstract

A community-wide outbreaks of Kawasaki syndrome, apparently the first in the United States, occurred in Hawaii in the first half of 1978. Twenty-seven of the 33 cases were subjected to intensive epidemiologic and microbiologic study. Patients with Kawasaki syndrome, compared to the general population, more often had Japanese ancestry, high-income status, and possibly a history of respiratory infection in the preceding month (44%). Staphylococcus aureus was not found in high frequency in the patients (15%), and viral cultures and serologic studies, immune electron microscopy, and guinea pig and primate inoculation did not reveal a causative microorganism. Febrile illnesses in guinea pigs inoculated with a skin biopsy specimen should not be further passaged.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Kawasaki T, Kosaki F, Okawa S, Shigematsu I, Yanagawa H. A new infantile acute febrile mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome (MLNS) prevailing in Japan. Pediatrics. 1974;54:271. - PubMed
    1. Aterman K, Killam IW. A possible early example of mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome. J Pediatr. 1978;92:1027. - PubMed
    1. Shigematsu I, Tamashiro H, Shibata S, Kawasaki T, Kusakawa S. Kawasaki disease: A worldwide survey. Lance. 1979;2:193. - PubMed
    1. Yanagawa H, Shigematsu I, Kawasaki T. Epidemiological aspects of so-called “Kawasaki disease” (muco-cutaneous lymph node syndrome MCLS. presented at the 15th SEAMEO-TROPMED Seminar; Bangkok; 1975.
    1. Bell DM, Brink EW, Nitzkin JL. Kawasaki syndrome: Description of two outbreaks in the United States. N Engl J Med. 1981;304:1568. - PubMed

Publication types