The Kawasaki Disease Forum

However, the carpet cleaning link has lost favor among many investigators, since the results of an early study have not been replicated. A relationship between Kawasaki Disease and carpet cleaning was first reported in a case-control study published in 1982 in the medical journal Lancet (Vol. 2 No. 8298 pp 578-80). Researchers found that 11 out of 23 Denver children with Kawasaki Disease (48%) were living in homes where carpets had been shampooed within 30 days of the onset of symptoms; 10 of these children had played on the carpets two hours after they had been shampooed. In the control group (those who did not have the disease), only nine of 86 families (10%) had also shampooed carpets within 30 days. Some suggested that Kawasaki Disease could be caused by hypersensitivity to the detergents used, or by inhalation of an infectious agent (such as a bacterial toxin or virus) that becomes suspended in the air during cleaning.

When subsequent studies were done, the picture became more muddled. Three additional studies did find an association between exposure to freshly cleaned carpets within 4 hours of the cleaning process and Kawaski disease -- however, the results were the same if the carpets or upholstery were cleaned with chemicals or simply plain water. Four studies found no associations at all. When researchers tried to follow up and determine if the causative agent might be disturbing of dust mites, which they reasoned might harbor disease agents, that lead did not pan out (Can Med Assoc J. 1984 October 1; 131(7): 720.).



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