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Undiagnosed Rheumatic Fever Blamed for Heart Damage

A study of New Zealand children's hearts has uncovered an "alarming" rate of damage caused by what many call a Third World disease. The study in Northland found that nearly one in a hundred children had heart damage caused by previously undiagnosed rheumatic fever.

 

"I find 1 per cent quite alarming," Northland's medical officer of health, Dr Jonathan Jarman, said. "It's heart damage caused by a preventable disease; it's a Third World disease. Rheumatic fever is an immune system reaction to a sore throat caused by group A streptococcal bacteria. It can cause muscle and joint pain - and potentially fatal heart damage. It is linked to household overcrowding.

A sore throat can also be caused by a viral infection, but Dr Jarman said: "It's better to be safe than sorry."