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Acute Rheumatic Fever Diagnosis Collaborative Network (ARC)

ARC is a global network of collaborators committed to reducing the burden of RHD in our lifetime.

Defining target penicillin concentrations for subsequent studies of a reformulated long-acting benzathine penicillin prototype

Aims: To determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations of penicillin G against a representative collection of Strep A strains; and to evaluate the impact of penicillin G concentration and size of bacterial inoculum on the prophylactic effect for Strep A strains

START: Towards a diagnostic test for rheumatic fever

In this study we will use new methods to comprehensively test immune responses in blood samples from people with ARF (diagnosed using the Jones Criteria) and healthy volunteers at Royal Darwin and from Auckland Hospital, New Zealand, to find any unique signature that reliably identifies ARF.

Working Towards a Better Understanding of ARF

Goal: Characterize the pattern of contemporary and endemic ARF and develop a biological signature to improve sensitivity and specificity of ARF diagnosis.

Reach: to stop rheumatic heart disease

Reach works to promote the health of vulnerable populations by providing technical support to local, regional and global efforts to prevent and control rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RF/RHD).

Pharmacokinetics of intramuscular versus subcutaneous administration of Benzathine Penicillin G

Benzathine penicillin G (BPG) has been in use since the 1950s for treatment of skin infections, bacterial pharyngitis, syphilis and prevention of recurrent episodes of acute rheumatic fever (ARF)

Improving Wellbeing for Young People Living with Rheumatic Heart Disease: A peer support program through Danila Dilba Health Service

This project seeks to conduct a focus group for young people (aged 11-14) and their parents/family members through the Danila Dilba Health Service (DDHS) in Darwin with the aim of identifying consumer needs and perspectives on next steps and priorities for peer support in RHD.

Burden of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and impact of prevention strategies: comprehensive evidence to drive the RHD Endgame

This project will use a multi-jurisdictional linked RHD dataset to establish a baseline burden of RHD in Australia to allow for monitoring the impact of burden over time, and to form the basis of clearly defined targets for the END RHD CRE Endgame Strategy.

Pacific Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) Program

The goal of the program is to establish the foundations of an effective, sustainable and equitable response to RHD in the Pacific.

The END RHD CRE: Developing an end game for rheumatic heart disease in Australia

The END RHD CRE will undertake a number of projects across several disciplines of research including epidemiology, biomedical sciences; implementation and translation; and understanding the RHD community with a special focus on documenting the experiences of those living with the disease.