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For Aboriginal Community Researchers Minitja Marawili and Yunutju Gondarra, the work of the END RHD CRE is deeply personal.

Laqueisha was just five years old when she was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease and sent on a 5,000km return trip to Perth for major heart surgery.

The prevalence of impetigo and pharyngitis - which are both superficial group A streptococcus (GAS) infections that precede acute rheumatic fever - is poorly defined. Guidelines recommend the early diagnosis of both infections to prevent ARF; however, screening to enable the concurrent detection of these infections in high-risk populations has rarely been performed. 

Although benzylpenicillin (penicillin G) is listed by the World Health Organization as an Essential Medicine, dose optimization is a persistent challenge, especially for long-acting intramuscular formulations. Maintaining sustained antibiotic exposure at target concentrations is crucial for secondary chemoprophylaxis of rheumatic heart disease and treatment of syphilis. 

Fear of severe adverse reaction (SAR) and reluctance of health care providers to administer intramuscular injections are major contributing factors to poor adherence of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) in the management of rheumatic heart disease (RHD). However, data on the risk of SARs following BPG injections for RHD are relatively limited and inconclusive. Our systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the incidence of SARs associated with BPG injections used for secondary prophylaxis of RHD. 

We have read with interest the new publication by Rouhiainen and colleagues on missed opportunities for preventing or diagnosing acute rheumatic fever (ARF).

This study aims to describe the pattern and trends in acute rheumatic fever (ARF)/rheumatic heart disease (RHD)-related hospitalisations and costs for Australians aged <65 years.  

Here we describe the experiences of young people living with ARF participating in a Phase-II trial of SubCutaneous Injections of BPG.

Aboriginal health is everyone's business. The needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and kids is integrated into all relevant areas of our work. Improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids and families is an overarching priority for every team at The Kids.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) persists in low-middle-income countries and in high-income countries where there are health inequities. RHD in pregnancy (RHD-P) is associated with poorer maternal and perinatal outcomes. Our study examines models of care for women with RHD-P from the perspectives of health care providers.