Welcome to the Kawasaki Disease Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to Kawasaki Disease issues. The Kawasaki Disease Foundation is partnership of parents, patients, and professionals dedicated to advancing Kawasaki Disease issues. The Foundation focuses on awareness, support, and research. 

Kawasaki disease (KD), also known as Kawasaki syndrome, is a serious illness characterized by inflammation of blood vessels throughout the body that primarily affects young children and infants.  Kawasaki disease is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children.  Although about 80 percent of patients are under five years of age, older children and teenagers can also get KD, but this is uncommon.  KD is more common in boys than girls, and the majority of cases are diagnosed in the winter and early spring. It is not contagious. 

The disease is named after Tomisaku Kawasaki, a Japanese pediatrician who first described the illness in the medical literature in 1967.  Although it is more prevalent among children of Asian and Pacific Island descent, KD affects people of all racial and ethnic groups. It is estimated that more than 4,200 children are diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease in the U.S. each year. The cause of KD is unknown, although an agent, like a virus, is suspected.  There is no currently accepted scientific evidence that KD is caused by carpet cleaning or chemical exposure. 

Kawasaki Disease is characterized by an inflammation of the blood vessels throughout the body.  There is no specific test for KD; doctors make a clinical diagnosis based on a collection of symptoms and physical findings.  Early symptoms of KD include:

• Fever that lasts for five or more days   
• Rash, often worse in the groin area   
• Red bloodshot eyes, without drainage or crusting   
• Bright red, swollen, cracked lips, “strawberry” tongue, which appears with shiny bright red spots after the top coating sloughs off  
• Swollen hands and feet and redness of the palms and soles of the feet   
• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck

Understandably, children with these symptoms are extremely uncomfortable and irritable. Any parent whose child has persistent fever and any of these symptoms should take him or her to the doctor immediately. 

Without treatment, about 25% of children develop heart disease involving the coronary arteries.  Timely diagnosis and treatment (which usually includes intravenous gamma globulin) is highly effective in preventing coronary complications.  Doctors continue to study the long-term outcome of children who do not appear to have coronary involvement.  Other kinds of longer-term consequences (e.g., non-coronary) are extremely rare.  There is no evidence that links KD with autism or a seizure disorder. A very small number of KD children might have a seizure in the early acute stage of KD when there are very high fevers, but there is no on-going or long term seizure prone condition.

KD Foundation Newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 3

Click here to read the KD Foundation newsletter: Volume 1, issue 3.

Calen Page/Kawasaki Disease Awareness Walk on Saturday, May 5

We are getting ready to have our third annual Calen Page/Kawasaki Disease Awareness Walk on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 8:00 am at St. Mary's Parish Center in Big Rapids. The walk will be led by Officer Little and his horse. Family, friends, and community members are currently collecting pledges and pre-registering. We will also have an auction of donated items and face painting for the children. In the last two years we have raised approximately $18,000 total (combined 2 year total) to support the Kawasaki Disease Foundation's research efforts.We recently were notified of that our efforts have supported the purchase of equipment to support research to develop better treatment for acute Kawasaki Disease patients.

In addition to raising funds for research, our continuous work to provide education and create awareness of this terrible disease has resulted in an increase in the early diagnosis and treatment of local children. We want to thank our family, friends, the community and area businesses for their continued support of our efforts.

If you have any questions or need information please contact me or Jennifer Page. Jennifer can be reached at 231-679-1253 or my email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Click here to view the flyer

Click here to download the registration form

Kawasaki Disease in India

"The Eye Cannot See what the Mind Does Not Know"

KD Foundation Newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 2

Click here to read the KD Foundation newsletter: Volume 1, issue 2.

Kawasaki Disease Foundation Benefits from “All-Star” Win

On April 3, 2011, Chef Nate Appleman succeeded in becoming “Chopped All-Stars” first champion, with his charity – the Kawasaki Disease Foundation – receiving $50,000!

Beginning in March, the Food Network began running “Chopped All-Stars,” and pitched it as a five-part battle where “chefs you know and love go head-to-head” in the Chopped arena. A total of 16 different chefs competed, with each chef choosing charities to represent. The champion of the competition would win a $50,000 donation to their charity. Appleman’s choice of the Kawasaki Disease Foundation was personal, as his son was diagnosed with KD last year, and was left with coronary aneurysms as a result.

The Kawasaki Disease Foundation was thrilled to establish this relationship with Appleman, who, in addition to competing on “Chopped All-Stars,” has also competed on “The Next Iron Chef,” was the 2007 James Beard Rising Star Chef award-winner and was recently hired by Chipotle to lead development of new menu items. The donation of the money from the competition will be, indeed “game changing” as Appleman stated after winning the competition. The donation will be earmarked for research, and will aid doctors who are currently working on a diagnostic test for KD.

For more information on “Chopped All-Stars” or Chef Nate Appleman, please visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/chopped/index.html

ABOUT THE KAWASAKI DISEASE FOUNDATION - The Kawasaki Disease Foundation is a national nonprofit organization of parents, patients, and medical professionals dedicated to advancing Kawasaki Disease issues. The Foundation focuses on awareness, support, and research in the area of Kawasaki Disease. The Foundation promotes early detection and treatment of Kawasaki Disease, and provides information and support for families through a nationwide telephone and e-mail help network. For more information, visit: www.kdfoundation.org.

Vote for Food Network All-Stars Favorite!

Make sure you log onto the Food Network page and vote for the Chopped All-Stars Fan Favorite! You can vote up to 10 times a day!

And be sure to tune in to the Food Network this Sunday at 9pm to see the next installment of the competition - Chopped All Stars!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/chopped-fan-vote/package/index.html

KD Foundation Newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 1

Click here to read the KD Foundation's first newsletter.  Volume 1, issue 1.

Celebrity Chef Nate Appleman to Represent KD Foundation

Celebrity Chef Nate Appleman to compete on Chopped All Stars representing the Kawasaki Disease Foundation

In March, the Food Network is running Chopped All-Stars a "fierce five-part battle" in which "chefs you know and love go head-to-head" in the Chopped arena.

Each celebrity chef has chosen a charity to represent with the winner receiving $50,000 for their charity. Chef Nate Appleman chose the Kawasaki Disease Foundation - KD is close to his "heart" because his son is a survivor.

Please tune in to see Chopped beginning March 6 at 9PM EST on the Food Network!

For more information, please visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/chopped/index.html

 

News Release - January 26th - National KD Awareness Day

KD Foundation Declares January 26th as, “National Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day.”

Read the news release here.

Read the Resolution to be presented before the 111th CONGRESS, 2nd Session.

KD Posters

Our KD poster is available for download.  Download: the letter-size poster here, or the higher-resolution poster here. We can make these available if you would like to distribute.  Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

New Video: KD, A Parent’s Guide

We just added a new video: Kawasaki Disease, A Parent's Guide.  Click here to view it.

Videos from KD Parent Symposium

You can view the November 2009 KD Foundation-sponsored Parent Symposium in its entirety online.  The video is split into a series of 19 parts.  Click here to view the series.

Press Release

Kawasaki Disease Foundation Press Release: What is Kawasaki Disease?  Click here to download.

9th Int'l KD Symposium Abstracts

Click here to view details regarding the 9th International Kawasaki Disease Symposium Abstracts.

Article on KD Long Term Health

Interesting article on health of KD patients long term.  Click here to read.

New York KD Awareness Week

New York has declared February 3rd - 9th as Kawasaki Disease Awareness Week.  For information, contact Uma O'Donnell at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.