On International Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day, Societi Foundation calls for awareness and action to combat this, the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children.
The key and urgent messages to note are the following:
- Doctors need to EXPECT to see and be READY to treat Kawasaki Disease
- Kawasaki Disease is increasingly common, more common than some forms of bacterial meningitis and seen more often than measles1
- UK treatment times are too slow. Lack of awareness of Kawasaki Disease delays diagnosis and treatment, significantly increasing risk of heart damage
- In the UK & Ireland, research shows 39% of infants with Kawasaki Disease develop coronary artery aneurysms. This is too high!
- Kawasaki Disease is the #1 cause of acquired heart disease in UK children
