Kawasaki Disease and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Any Connection to Vaccination?

Kawasaki disease (KD) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are two conditions with unknown etiology that occur in young children. KD is an acute self-limited vasculitis that occurs predominantly in infants and young children that can lead to coronary artery aneurysms or ectasia. Clinical criteria have been developed and well described to diagnose the constellation of signs and symptoms of this syndrome. Though 45 years have passed since the syndrome was first described, the etiology of KD remains elusive. It has been speculated that KD is infectious in origin, though no specific infectious source has been identified. Since KD presents at an age when infants and young children are receiving their primary vaccine series it has been questioned as to whether the vaccinations themselves are the inciting event behind KD. KD has been linked to a number of vaccines, yet no evidence of a cause-and-effect association exists and should not serve as a barrier to vaccination.