Parents and carers should look out for a series of symptoms if they're concerned their children may have contracted Kawasaki disease.
While many questions remain around the illness - such as whether it is linked to the coronavirus - it is believed to have affected 12 children across the UK so far.
According to the NHS, Kawasaki disease mainly affects children under the age of five and is also known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome.
The primary symptom that parents and carers should look out for is a high temperature that last for five days or more.
In addition, a young Kawasaki sufferer may also have a rash, red eyes and swollen glands around the neck.
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Dry, cracked lips and red fingers or toes are also tell-tale signs of the disease.
Some of the cases which the NHS have dealt with appear to be slightly different from a typical Kawasaki infection however.
In an urgent alert sent out to doctors it was explained: “The cases have in common overlapping features of toxic shock syndrome and atypical Kawasaki Disease with blood parameters consistent with severe Covid-19 in children.
“Abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms have been a common feature as has cardiac inflammation.”
Kawasaki disease causes the blood vessels to become inflamed and swollen, which can restrict the supply of blood to the heart, according to the NHS.
Toxic shock syndrome is a rare but life-threatening condition caused by bacteria getting into the body and releasing harmful toxins.
It is often associated with tampon use in women, but can affect anyone of any age – including men and children.
The NHS explained: “The symptoms of toxic shock syndrome start suddenly and get worse quickly.
“They include: a high temperature, flu-like symptoms, such as a headache, feeling cold, feeling tired or exhausted, an aching body, a sore throat and a cough, feeling and being sick, diarrhoea, a widespread sunburn-like rash, lips, tongue and the whites of the eyes turning a bright red, dizziness or fainting, difficulty breathing, confusion.”
If a child does contract Kawasaki disease, a GP should be seen urgently or 111 should be called.
“The sooner treatment starts, the quicker the recovery time and there's less risk of complications developing,” the NHS says.
Intravenous immunoglobulin - a solution of antibodies - and aspirin are the two main medicines used to treat Kawasaki disease.
About 25% of children who contract the illness experience heart complications, due to the way it inflames blood vessels.
If the condition is left untreated, then it can be fatal in 2 to 3% of cases.
Around eight in every 100,000 children develop Kawasaki disease in the UK each year.
While a link between the coronavirus and the disease is yet to be established, there has been a reported rise in cases in countries dealing with bad Covid-19 outbreaks.
A hospital in Beramo in northern Italy has seen 20 cases of severe vascular inflammation similar to that experienced by Kawasaki sufferers in the past month.
That is six times more than it would typically experience in a year.
A Great Ormond Street Hospital spokesperson said: “Doctors do not yet know exactly what causes Kawasaki disease. It is probably due to a combination of factors.
“Some children may be genetically predisposed to the condition, and environmental factors such as infections, and the way a child’s body responds to that infection, could play a part too.”
