Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jun;57(6):797-802.
doi: 10.1111/jpc.15514. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Structured review of primary interventions to reduce group A streptococcal infections, acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease

Julie Bennett  1 , Nelly Rentta  1 , William Leung  1 , Anneka Anderson  2   3 , Jane Oliver  4   5 , Rosemary Wyber  6 , Matire Harwod  7   8 , Rachel Webb  9   10 , John Malcom  11 , Michael G Baker  1
Affiliations
Review

Structured review of primary interventions to reduce group A streptococcal infections, acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease

Julie Bennett et al. J Paediatr Child Health. 2021 Jun.

Erratum in

  • Corrigendum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] J Paediatr Child Health. 2021 Jul;57(7):1155. doi: 10.1111/jpc.15638. J Paediatr Child Health. 2021. PMID: 34216171 No abstract available.

Abstract

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a large, preventable, global public health burden. In New Zealand (NZ), acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and RHD rates are highest for Māori and Pacific children. This structured review explores the evidence for primary prevention interventions to diagnose and effectively treat group A Streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis and skin infections to reduce rates of ARF and RHD. Medline, EMBASE and Scopus databases were searched as well as other electronic publications. Included were 50 publications from 1980 onwards. This review has identified that there is little available evidence for effective primary prevention strategies to reduce ARF rates in NZ. However, two primary intervention strategies that should be considered by communities at high-risk of ARF are: the use of school-based clinics to identify and treat GAS pharyngitis and GAS skin infections; and intramuscular benzathine penicillin G with lignocaine analgesia in children who present with a GAS positive throat.

Keywords: GAS; group A Streptococcus; primary prevention; rheumatic fever; rheumatic heart disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Rammelkamp CH Jr. Epidemiology of streptococcal infections. Harvey Lect. 1955; 51: 113-42.
    1. McDonald M, Currie BJ, Carapetis JR. Acute rheumatic fever: A chink in the chain that links the heart to the throat? Lancet Infect. Dis. 2004; 4: 240-5.
    1. O'Sullivan L, Moreland NJ, Webb RH, Upton A, Wilson NJ. Acute rheumatic fever after group A Streptococcus pyoderma and group G streptococcus pharyngitis. Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J. 2017; 36: 692-4.
    1. Thomas S, Bennett J, Jack S et al. Descriptive analysis of group A Streptococcus in skin swabs and acute rheumatic fever, Auckland, New Zealand, 2010-2016. Lancet 2021; 8: 100101.
    1. Carapetis JR. Rheumatic heart disease in developing countries. N. Engl. J. Med. 2007; 357: 439-41.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources