Kawasaki Disease: A Brief History

In mid July l965, we cared for an Eskimo child, who died after a prolonged and puzzling illness. The autopsy revealed enlarged coronary arteries and arteritis. The diagnosis eluded us. The case was reviewed several years later, after the published reports of Kawasaki Disease, by Dr. Ben Landing, who felt that KD was the diagnois in this case. This has been recently publised as follows: Moss, Kenneth W. "Kawasaki Disease. Kawasaki Disease?"Alaska Medicine. Vol 42:2, April/May/June2000.

This case report is thought to represent the first case described in Alaska, and occurring in a person of Oriental (Yupik Eskimo) descent. It may be of interest to readers, as the occurrence was several years before the US description of Kawasaki Disease, and is presented in retrospect.