Who gets Kawasaki disease?
Kawasaki disease occurs most commonly among children of Asian ancestry, but it affects children of all racial and ethnic groups. There are about 3,500-5,000 reported cases per year in the U.S. and over 8,000 per year in Japan. This illness commonly affects children under 5 years of age, and the average age is 2 years old. Boys develop this illness more often than girls. In recent years this illness has occurred in small, local outbreaks and most often in late winter or early spring, but it occurs throughout the year. It is not contagious and does not appear to be hereditary, and it is unusual for more than one child in a family to develop this illness. Because the illness sometimes occurs in outbreaks, it most likely occurs when a specific infectious agent (virus) infects a non-immune child who is genetically susceptible. There is no proven environmental trigger.
