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David M. Morens, MD

JAMA. 1979;241(4):399.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

It has been 4 1/2 years since Kawasaki disease was first recognized in the United States¹ and 11 years since its recognition in Japan.² Despite more than a decade of observations, countless investigations, and well over 200 publications on the subject, Kawasaki disease is as much an enigma as ever. Perhaps the most elemental mystery is its cause or causes. Most investigators have hypothesized infectious, toxic, or allergic causes. But streptococci, leptospira, common rickettsiae, and the known exanthem-producing viruses of childhood appear to have been ruled out. Neither mercury nor cadmium toxicity have been incriminated, nor have drug reactions, since many patients have not received antibiotics before onset of diagnostic symptoms.

The observation that in Japan Kawasaki disease appears to be associated with HLA antigen Bw22, especially subtype j2, has added little to our understanding of the disease, since most cases clearly are not associated with the antigen, . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Center for Disease Control Atlanta

Footnotes
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