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The incidence of invasive GAS disease in WA increased between 2000 and 2018, particularly among Indigenous Australians. Mandatory notification of invasive GAS disease would therefore be appropriate. The social determinants of differences in incidence should be addressed, and other relevant host, pathogen, and health system factors investigated.
Indigenous children and young peoples live with an inequitable burden of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. In this Review, we focus on the epidemiological burden and lived experience of these conditions for Indigenous young peoples in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. We outline the direct and indirect drivers of rheumatic heart disease risk and their mitigation.
We explore the acceptability of a novel, outreached-based approach to improve primary and primordial prevention of Strep A skin sores, sore throats and acute rheumatic fever in remote Aboriginal communities. A comprehensive prevention program delivered by trained Aboriginal Community Workers was evaluated using approximately fortnightly household surveys about health and housing and clinical records.
This chapter outlines the evidence and evolution of RHD control programs and draws conclusions about priorities following the 2018 World Health Organization Global Resolution on rheumatic fever and RHD.
Congratulations to Associate Professor Asha Bowen, who has been awarded the 2022 Frank Fenner Award for Advanced Research in Infectious Diseases.
Prof Jonathan Carapetis has been elected as a new Fellow of the prestigious Australian Academy of Science in recognition of his pioneering, paradigm-shifting expertise in infectious diseases.
Health activities driven by remote Indigenous communities may be key to the sustainable and successful treatment and prevention of a potentially fatal disease, a study has found.
The Kids Research Institute Australia and Menzies School of Health Research have joined forces with Danila Dilba Health Service to look at improving treatment for RHD.
Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is a multiorgan inflammatory disorder that results from the body's autoimmune response to pharyngitis or a skin infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A). Acute rheumatic fever mainly affects those in low- and middle-income nations, as well as in indigenous populations in wealthy nations, where initial Strep A infections may go undetected.
Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) is responsible for a significant global health and economic burden. The recent prioritization of Strep A vaccine development by the World Health Organization has prompted global research activities and collaborations. To progress this prioritization, establishment of robust surveillance for Strep A to generate updated regional disease burden estimates and to establish platforms for future impact evaluation is essential.