Harvard Studies Hint That Virus Causes Deadly Kawasaki Syndrome

A virus may be the cause of Kawasaki syndrome, a mysterious disease that causes life-threatening heart abnormalities in children and is especially prevalent among youngsters of Japanese and Korean descent, according to Harvard Medical School researchers.

In studies on the white blood cells of Kawasaki syndrome patients, the researchers have detected a key viral enzyme, called reverse transcriptase, which is normally not present in blood cells. They have also examined the white blood cells of three patients under the electron microscope and detected what appear to be viral particles.

These findings, reported in the Oct. 30 issue of Nature, do not prove that a virus causes the mysterious ailment, but they do support the belief of many researchers that the syndrome has an infectious origin.

An estimated 2,000 to 5,000 new cases of Kawasaki syndrome occur in the United States each year, mostly in children under 9 years of age, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. Patients have high fevers, rashes, inflamed tonsils and enlarged lymph nodes. About 20% develop life-threatening weakenings of the arteries supplying blood to the heart.

In Japan, where the disease was first recognized in 1961, more than 70,000 cases have been reported.