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Skin infections send eight out of every 100 Aboriginal babies to hospitalIn a WA first, researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have shown that Aboriginal babies are 22.5 times more likely to be treated for skin infections than non-Aboriginal babies.
News & Events
Bold bid to end rheumatic heart diseaseSome of the nation’s leading medical researchers will converge on Darwin this week to step out a plan to wipe out rheumatic heart disease.
News & Events
The Kids researchers granted $5 million to prevent RHD across PacificA team led by Dr Joseph Kado from the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, based at The Kids Research Institute Australia, and The University of Western Australia (UWA) has been awarded $5 million by the Federal Government in a major push to prevent rheumatic heart disease across the Pacific.
News & Events
Call for urgent funding boost for RHD in AustraliaThere are calls for a significant and urgent injection of $40 million in funding to tackle Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) following Monday night’s Four Corners episode.
Research
Excess Deaths Associated with Rheumatic Heart Disease, Australia, 2013-2017During 2013–2017, the mortality rate ratio for rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous versus non-Indigenous persons in Australia was 15.9, reflecting health inequity. Using excess mortality methods, we found that deaths associated with rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous Australians were probably substantially undercounted, affecting accuracy of calculations based solely on Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Research
2023 World Heart Federation guidelines for the echocardiographic diagnosis of rheumatic heart diseaseRheumatic heart disease (RHD) is an important and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality among children and young adults in low-income and middle-income countries, as well as among certain at-risk populations living in high-income countries. The 2012 World Heart Federation echocardiographic criteria provided a standardized approach for the identification of RHD and facilitated an improvement in early case detection.
Research
The potential global cost-effectiveness of prospective Strep A vaccines and associated implementation effortsGroup A Streptococcus causes a wide range of diseases from relatively mild infections including pharyngitis to more severe illnesses such as invasive diseases and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Our aim is to estimate the cost-effectiveness of a hypothetical Strep A vaccine on multiple disease manifestations at the global-level.
Research
A community-based program to reduce acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in northern AustraliaIn Australia’s north, Aboriginal peoples live with world-high rates of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and its precursor, acute rheumatic fever (ARF); driven by social and environmental determinants of health. We undertook a program of work to strengthen RHD primordial and primary prevention using a model addressing six domains: housing and environmental support, community awareness and empowerment, health literacy, health and education service integration, health navigation and health provider education.
Research
Penicillin G concentrations required for prophylaxis against Group A Streptococcus infection evaluated using a hollow fibre model and mathematical modellingAcute rheumatic fever (ARF), an autoimmune reaction to Group A Streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes; Strep A) infection, can cause rheumatic heart disease (RHD). New formulations of long-acting penicillins are being developed for secondary prophylaxis of ARF and RHD.
Research
Evaluation of a Community-Led Program for Primordial and Primary Prevention of Rheumatic Fever in Remote Northern AustraliaEnvironmental factors including household crowding and inadequate washing facilities underpin recurrent streptococcal infections in childhood that cause acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and subsequent rheumatic heart disease (RHD).