ACTIVE OR RECENT PARVOVIRUS B19 INFECTION IN CHILDREN WITH KAWASAKI-DISEASE

Because parvovirus B19 occasionally causes some of the features typica l of Kawasaki disease, we investigated B19 involvement in 15 children with Kawasaki disease. Active or recent B19 infection, as shown by B19 -DNAaemia, positive B19-specific IgM antibodies, or both, was diagnose d in 10 patients (67%). A high frequency of all major criteria for dia gnosis of Kawasaki disease (60%), anaemia (60%), coronary aneurysms (3 0%), and arthropathy (30%) was found in children with B19-associated K awasaki disease. Thus B19 may have a pathogenic role in the developmen t of Kawasaki disease, with other predisposing factors.