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Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is underdiagnosed globally resulting in missed treatment opportunities and adverse clinical outcomes. We describe the protocol for a study which aims to co-design, implement and conduct an evaluation of a task-sharing approach to echocardiographic active case finding for early detection and management of RHD in high-risk settings in Australia and Timor-Leste.
In Australia, accurate case ascertainment of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) diagnoses for disease surveillance and control purposes requires the use of multiple data sources, including RHD registers and hospitalisation records. Despite drawing on multiple data sources, the true burden of ARF/RHD is likely to be underestimated.
Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are caused by untreated group A streptococcus infections. Their prevalence is much higher among First Nations people than other Australians.
This study aimed to investigate potential missed diagnoses of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease during hospital-based care among persons subsequently identified with these conditions.
This research sought to provide an outline of identified household-level environmental health initiatives to reduce or interrupt Strep A transmission along each of these pathways.
Acute rheumatic fever (ARF), a serious inflammatory condition, often leads to rheumatic heart disease. Between 2011 and 2016, Aotearoa New Zealand implemented a rheumatic fever prevention programme to reduce high rates of ARF through improved community access to timely diagnosis and early treatment of group A streptococcal pharyngitis, which has been shown to prevent subsequent ARF.
Jonathan Carapetis AM AM MBBS FRACP FAFPHM PhD FAHMS Executive Director; Co-Head, Strep A Translation; Co-Founder of REACH 08 6319 1000 contact@
The spectrum of diseases caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) ranges from superficial to serious life-threatening invasive infections. We conducted a scoping review of published articles between 1980 and 2021 to synthesize evidence of state transitions across the Strep A disease spectrum. We identified 175 articles reporting 262 distinct observations of Strep A disease state transitions.
Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) causes a wide spectrum of diseases, ranging from pharyngitis and impetigo to severe invasive infections and immune-mediated conditions such as acute rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease and acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Contemporary data on the global burden of Strep A diseases are lacking.
To determine age-specific and age-standardised incidence trends of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) or rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among Indigenous Western Australians aged less than 35 years of age.