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Why everyone needs to know about Kawasaki disease

January 26th, 2015 marks the 5th annual Kawasaki Disease Awareness Day.  I know many parents of KD survivors (myself included) and survivors themselves who are KD advocates and raise awareness on a daily basis.  I am sure there are people that wonder why we are so passionate about this cause, and given that it is considered rare, why it is such a big deal.  These are the reasons why everyone needs to know about Kawasaki disease: 1. It is often misdiagnosed.   Many of the symptoms associated with Kawasaki disease are also associated with numerous other childhood illnesses, making it difficult for doctors to determine the true cause of the symptoms.  To complicate matters even further, the symptoms may not show up at the same time (as in Isaiah's case) or many of the symptoms may not show up at all (incomplete KD).  Currently, there is no diagnostic test for Kawasaki disease.  It is typically diagnosed using a combination of clinical features, blood work (looking for elevated l