Kawasaki Disease (KD)
CDC is investigating reports of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which may present with Kawasaki disease-like features. Please visit the CDC MIS-C website for information for healthcare providers, parents, and to find out what CDC is doing to respond to MIS-C.
Kawasaki disease (KD), also known as Kawasaki syndrome, is an acute febrile illness of unknown cause that primarily affects children younger than 5 years of age. The disease was first described in Japan by Tomisaku Kawasaki in 1967, and the first cases outside of Japan were reported in Hawaii in 1976. Clinical signs include fever, rash, swelling of the hands and feet, irritation and redness of the whites of the eyes, swollen lymph glands in the neck, and irritation and inflammation of the mouth, lips, and throat.
![Kawasaki disease primarily affects children younger than 5 years of age.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20210120085633im_/https://www.cdc.gov/kawasaki/images/toddlers-300.jpg)
Kawasaki disease primarily affects children younger than 5 years of age.