Researchers at The Kids Research Institute Australia say Group A Streptococcus, the bacterium that causes skin sores and sore throat and can lead to life-threatening health problems, should become a nationally notifiable disease in Australia.
In a paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia today, The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers argue that because Group A Streptococcus (GAS) disproportionately affects Aboriginal Australians legislating for notification of the disease is needed to help close the gap.
45 per cent of Aboriginal children in remote communities have impetigo (commonly known as skin sores) at any one time, which is the highest prevalence in the world.
The Kids Research Institute Australia researcher Dr Asha Bowen said the disease, which is an indirect result of poverty and poor living conditions, could lead to serious health complications and even premature death.
"This bacterium doesn't just cause painful skin sores and pharyngitis, commonly known as a strep throat," Dr Bowen said. "It can also lead to acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and subsequent rheumatic heart disease (RHD), which are both severe and life-threatening diseases."
"RHD is internationally recognised as a third world disease, yet mortality rates in Indigenous Australians are amongst the highest reported in the world."
Dr Bowen said Australia should follow New Zealand's lead, where diseases that disproportionately affect Maori and Pacific Islander peoples are prioritised.
"Making Group A Streptococcal infections notifiable nationally would help us accurately monitor the disease, direct an appropriate public health response to it and provide Indigenous health campaigners with the advocacy tools they need to demand action," Dr Bowen said.
The Kids Research Institute Australia is the lead organisation in the END RHD Centre of Research Excellence, the CANVAS Initiative on group A streptococcal vaccines, and RhEACH, an international collaboration to leverage discoveries for global benefit.
Through these initiatives researchers are working to develop a vaccine against Group A Streptococcus and a long-acting penicillin to prevent those already with the disease from developing acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.
Read the paper here.
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Media contact:
Jasmine Raisbeck, Senior Communications Officer, The Kids Research Institute Australia
08 9489 7635 or 0437 575 875 or jasmine.raisbeck@telethonkids.org.au
About The Kids Research Institute Australia:
The Kids Research Institute Australia is one of the largest, and most successful medical research institutes in Australia, comprising a dedicated and diverse team of more than 500 staff and students.
We've created a bold blueprint that brings together community, researchers, practitioners, policy makers and funders, who share our vision to improve the health and wellbeing of children through excellence in research.
The Institute is headed by leading paediatrician and infectious diseases expert Professor Jonathan Carapetis, with Founding Director Professor Fiona Stanley now Patron.
The Kids is independent and not-for-profit. The majority of funding comes from our success in winning national and international competitive research grants. We also receive significant philanthropic support from corporate Australia and the community.