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

Once you hear it, you won’t be able to get it out of your head – and that’s exactly the point of the new song ‘Boom Boom’.

Dr Janessa Pickering is a research microbiologist with expertise in the molecular diagnostics and host pathogen interactions of upper respiratory tract pathogens that cause disease in children.

Honorary

Researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia are joining forces with international experts in acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) to transform the diagnosis of these diseases thanks to an $US8 million grant from the Leducq Foundation.

Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people receiving long-term, painful injections to prevent deadly complications from rheumatic heart disease (RHD) will design their own optimum treatment program thanks to latest research at The Kids Research Institute Australia.

Researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded more than $11 million to support vital child health projects, under the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund.

The prevalence of group A streptococcal disease remains high among symptomatic individuals residing in Africa

Acute rheumatic fever is an autoimmune disorder resulting from Group A Streptococcus pharyngitis or impetigo in children and adolescents, which may evolve to rheumatic heart disease (RHD) with persistent cardiac valve damage. RHD causes substantial mortality and morbidity globally, predominantly among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, with an interplay of social determinants of health and genetic factors determining overall risk.

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.