One of the world's most mysterious illnesses is on the brink of being solved by scientists, UK MailOnline reported.
Kawasaki disease affects over 12,000 children a year in Japan. However, the origin has remained a mystery.
Known to be the deadliest when the wind blows from north eastern China, experts have found that the disease is caused by an airborne toxin that originates from the region.
But more research would need to be done for the toxin to be identified.
Children in Japan, the U.S. and South Korea are most likely to be struck by the disease which is a huge threat before the age of five.
According to UK MailOnline, "Symptoms of the disease include a red rash, fever, swelling and peeling of the skin on the hands and feet. Left untreated, it can cause internal bleeding and heart attacks."
"Some scientists are divided as to whether Kawasaki is an infection or an immune response to a toxin."
Large cases of the disease coincide with prevailing winds from Central Asia, a new study built on previous work suggested, Science Mag reported.
"Mathematical ecologist Xavier Rodó of the Catalan Institute for Climate Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, studied Japanese health records between 1970 and 2010 to pinpoint the days on which the most cases were identified in Tokyo and other large cities," UK MailOnline reported.
"His team used computer models of airflow to find out where the air had come from in the previous few days and discovered that on the days' most children became ill, the air originated from the same region in north-west China."
After taking two days to reach Japan, the air caused the children to become sick half a day later, according to the study in PNAS.
When the wind changed direction and did not follow a typical pattern for a contagious infection, the peak of the infection also died away.
"It must be in the form of a toxin or some other environmental agent," Dr. Rodó said.
Since the Northeast China Plain, the region thought to be source of the toxin, is highly agricultural, it is suspected that the toxin could be made by a fungus living on crops.
