Australian authorities call for research on link between coronavirus and Kawasaki disease

CANBERRA - Australian health authorities have called for urgent research into a mysterious COVID-19-linked illness suspected to have caused the death of at least three children in the United States, according to local media's report.

Brendan Murphy, Australia's Chief Medical Officer (CMO), has asked the nation's foremost pediatric experts for a report on Kawasaki disease, according to The Sydney Morning Herald on Wednesday.

Murphy called for the report during a meeting of Australia's leading medical expert panel on Monday.

He will brief the National Cabinet, which is comprised of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders, on Kawasaki disease on Friday.

"The Chief Medical Officer continues to engage with paediatric specialists nationally on this matter and Australia is in a good position to pick up an early signal of increased cases of Kawasaki disease over and above background seasonal variation," a spokeswoman for Australia's Department of Health said.

Also on Wednesday, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced that Ruth Vine, the former chief psychiatrist of Victoria, has been appointed as the first Deputy CMO with a focus on mental health.