Wind Patterns, Agriculture, and Kawasaki Disease

An ill wind from northeastern China seems to be blowing an etiologic agent into Japan.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a vasculitis of medium-sized vessels with a predilection for the coronary arteries. Twenty-five percent of children with KD who are not treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin develop coronary artery aneurysms. Seasonal peaks in some geographic areas suggest it is transmitted by some vector. However, the etiology has remained elusive.

An interdisciplinary group of researchers started with the observation that the timing of KD outbreaks in Japan coincides with certain wind patterns from Asia. Computer models were developed to simulate air currents and airborne particle transport for all days since 1977, when the incidence of KD cases in Japan was high. The modeling revealed increased cases of KD in several…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics