LONDON — The World Health Organization is “urgently” investigating a potential link between the coronavirus and Kawasaki syndrome, an illness of unknown cause that primarily affects children under 5.
“We are aware of this newly described syndrome from a number of countries in Europe and potentially a small number of cases in North America,” Dr. Adam Finn, chair of the WHO’s European Technical Advisory Group, told a news briefing Thursday.
“We are urgently conducting a surveillance study in the United Kingdom to establish what is going on,” he added.
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Also known as Kawasaki disease, on its website the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes Kawasaki syndrome as “acute febrile illness of unknown cause” that “primarily affects children younger than five years of age.”
Clinical signs include “fever, rash, swelling of the hands and feet, irritation and redness of the whites of the eyes, swollen lymph glands in the neck, and irritation and inflammation of the mouth, lips, and throat,” it adds.
Finn said the WHO was aware that arou