Kawasaki disease

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. an acute illness of unknown cause, occurring primarily in children, characterized by high fever, swollen lymph glands, rash, redness in mouth and throat, and joint pain.

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Etymology

Origin of Kawasaki disease

1980–85; after Japanese pediatrician Tomisaku Kawasaki, who first described it

Example Sentences

Kawasaki disease - named after the Japanese paediatrician who discovered it, Tomisaku Kawasaki - causes blood vessels to become inflamed and affects about eight in every 100,000 children.

From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026

Doctors across the United States are seeing a rise in Kawasaki disease, a mysterious condition that primarily affects children under 5.

From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2024

There are many different types of vasculitis that go by different names, including Behcet's disease, Henoch-Schonlein purpura, Churg-Strauss syndrome, Buerger's disease, Cryoglobulinemia, Takayasu's arteritis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Kawasaki disease and giant cell arteritis.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2022

The syndrome appears to have some similarities with Kawasaki disease and can cause problems with a child’s heart, lungs, kidneys and other organs.

From Washington Post • Nov. 26, 2021

Although MIS-C is new, doctors can treat it with decades-old therapies used for Kawasaki disease, a pediatric syndrome that also causes systemic inflammation.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 22, 2021