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The Kids Research Institute Australia is proud to announce the launch of a world class Centre of Research Excellence in rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
Western Australian doctors are now required by law to report all cases of rheumatic heart disease.
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most important cause of acquired cardiovascular disease in children and young adults and the most common cause of multivalv
After being diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease at ten, Elizabeth had to leave country and her family for a large chunk of her childhood so she could be treated in Adelaide.
When Liana complained of a sore foot and showed signs of a fever, her mum Margie rushed her to hospital. An X-ray of her foot revealed no obvious injury, so she was sent home and advised to take painkillers.
In Australia, accurate case ascertainment of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) diagnoses for disease surveillance and control purposes requires the use of multiple data sources, including RHD registers and hospitalisation records. Despite drawing on multiple data sources, the true burden of ARF/RHD is likely to be underestimated.
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
The prevalence of group A streptococcal disease remains high among symptomatic individuals residing in Africa
Between 1964 and 1996, the 10-year survival of patients having valve replacement surgery for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in the Northern Territory, Australia, was 68%. As medical care has evolved since then, this study aimed to determine whether there has been a corresponding improvement in survival.