Kawasaki disease is one of the main reasons for heart failure for children Under the age of five, and cases have increased dramatically over the past five years.
latest figures of NHS Show the number of children being treated for the disease England And wales has doubled, 706 require treatment.
An average of 336 required treatment over the past five years.
What is Kawasaki disease?
Also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome, this condition can cause certain blood vessels around the heart to enlarge and, if not treated in time, can be fatal.
The rise in the number of cases of the disease has prompted a plea for more plasma to be donated to help young people recover from it.
Children are treated with immunoglobulin – a medicine made from donated plasma.
Without treatment, about 1 in 4 children with Kawasaki disease may develop heart complications, which can be fatal in about 2 to 3 percent of cases, according to the NHS.
Who can get it?
It mainly affects children under the age of 5.
About 8 in every 100,000 children in the UK develop Kawasaki disease and studies have shown that it is 1.5 times more common in boys than in girls.
How to spot the symptoms of Kawasaki disease
A child with Kawasaki disease is likely to have a high temperature that lasts for five days or more, and will likely have one or more of the following symptoms:
- haste
- swollen glands in neck
- dry, red chapped lips
- a swollen, bumpy, red tongue (“strawberry tongue”)
- red inside the mouth and back of the throat
- swollen and red hands and feet
- red eyes
A common early symptom of the disease is a red and swollen tongue with red spots, known as ‘strawberry tongue’.
(Getty)
After a few weeks, and with the right treatment, symptoms become less severe, but it may take longer to heal in some children.
What to do if you think your child has
If your child has a persistent high temperature and one or more of the symptoms of Kawasaki disease, see a GP straight away, or call 111 if you can’t speak to a GP.
If your child is under one year old, you are advised to see a GP straight away or call 111.
The symptoms of Kawasaki disease can be similar to those of other conditions that cause fever in children.
Kawasaki disease cannot be prevented, but if it is diagnosed and treated promptly, children can make a full recovery within 6 to 8 weeks.
It is not clear exactly what causes Kawasaki disease, but researchers believed that the increase in cases may be due to reinfection of Kawasaki disease by children. COVID-19 Epidemic.