KD Signs and Symptoms

A fever that last 5+ days plus:

Kawasaki Disease mostly strikes children under the age of five presenting itself with at least three of six symptoms. This disease can cause serious damage to the heart leading to heart attack if left untreated. Kawasaki Disease is now known to be the leading cause of coronary heart disease in children that affects adult life. It is also suspected to be the primary cause of death by unexplained heart failure in children and young adults. Such cases are on the increase and are believed to be partly hereditary, which poses a 10% chance of being passed onto offspring.

If your child has 3 or more of the above symptoms for more than 4 days, ask the doctor for a heart scan by a paediatric cardiologist!

The founder Dee Izmail set up this charity in 1997 to help other families get a prompt diagnosis for their children after her daughter was misdiagnosed and left with damage to her heart in 1992.

Nadia's Story

To have been misdiagnosed before damage to my coronary arteries took place due to Kawasaki Disease, infants like me who develop KD at an age younger than 1 are usually the most seriously ill and at greatest risk of long-term heart problems. I was only seven months old. My condition was escalating at speed, and my parents were told that I had a common flu virus which could be cleared with antibiotics. My parents realized something was wrong when no recovery became evident. On our fourth visit to the pediatricians, it was then that a South African nurse happened to recognize the classic symptoms of Kawasaki Disease having seen it in his home country. I was treated with immunoglobulin also called gamma globulin, a blood product containing antibodies, along with aspirin for two years.