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$2 million grant to develop diagnostic tool for rheumatic fever

The Kids Research Institute Australia & Menzies School of Health Research will lead an international project to develop a diagnostic tool for acute rheumatic fever.

Hearing loss in Australian First Nations children at 6-monthly assessments from age 12 to 36 months: Secondary outcomes from randomised controlled trials of novel pneumococcal conjugate vaccine schedules

In Australian remote communities, First Nations children with otitis media (OM)-related hearing loss are disproportionately at risk of developmental delay and poor school performance, compared to those with normal hearing. Our objective was to compare OM-related hearing loss in children randomised to one of 2 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) formulations.

Antibiotic consumption for sore throat and the potential effect of a vaccine against group A Streptococcus: a systematic review and modelling study

Antibiotic consumption can lead to antimicrobial resistance and microbiome imbalance. We sought to estimate global antibiotic consumption for sore throat, and the potential reduction in consumption due to effective vaccination against group A Streptococcus.

Research priorities for the primordial prevention of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease by modifying the social determinants of health

The social determinants of health such as access to income, education, housing and healthcare, strongly shape the occurrence of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease at the household, community and national levels.

Prospects for the future: supporting the elimination of rheumatic heart disease – a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Workshop Proceedings

Jonathan Carapetis AM AM MBBS FRACP FAFPHM PhD FAHMS Executive Director; Co-Head, Strep A Translation; Co-Founder of REACH 08 6319 1000 contact@

Evaluating the role of asymptomatic throat carriage of Streptococcus pyogenes in impetigo transmission in remote Aboriginal communities in Northern Territory, Australia: a retrospective genomic analysis

Streptococcus pyogenes, or group A Streptococcus (GAS), infections contribute to a high burden of disease in Aboriginal Australians, causing skin infections and immune sequelae such as rheumatic heart disease. Controlling skin infections in these populations has proven difficult, with transmission dynamics being poorly understood. We aimed to identify the relative contributions of impetigo and asymptomatic throat carriage to GAS transmission.

Modeling the potential health impact of prospective Strep A vaccines

The World Health Organization published the preferred product characteristics for a Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) vaccine in 2018. Based on these parameters for the age of vaccination, vaccine efficacy, duration of protection from vaccine-derived immunity, and vaccination coverage, we developed a static cohort model to estimate the projected health impact of Strep A vaccination at the global, regional, and national levels and by country-income category.

Qualitative assessment of healthy volunteer experience receiving subcutaneous infusions of high-dose benzathine penicillin G (SCIP) provides insights into design of late phase clinical studies

Secondary prophylaxis to prevent rheumatic heart disease (RHD) progression, in the form of four-weekly intramuscular benzathine benzylpenicillin G (BPG) injections, has remained unchanged since 1955. Qualitative investigations into patient preference have highlighted the need for long-acting penicillins to be delivered less frequently, ideally with reduced pain.

Rheumatic heart disease mortality in Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians between 2010 and 2017

To generate contemporary age-specific mortality rates for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians aged <65 years who died from rheumatic heart disease between 2013 and 2017, and to ascertain the underlying causes of death of a prevalent RHD cohort aged <65 years who died during the same period.

End Rheumatic Heart Disease Centre of Research Excellence

The END RHD CRE is producing a costed, step-wise strategy to end rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as public health priority in Australia.