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Discover Series: Rheumatic heart disease

What would you discover to help a child? At The Kids, our researchers are committed to Rheumatic heart disease research that makes a real difference.

One in 43 Aboriginal people living in remote and rural areas have Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD).  This is one of the highest recorded rates of RHD in the world.

Rheumatic heart disease is permanent damage to the heart following acute rheumatic fever (ARF) caused by repeated group A streptococcal (GAS) infection. It can lead to heart failure, cardiac surgery and even death.

RHD is a disease of poverty and social injustice and shouldn't exist, particularly in a country like Australia.  
Our RHD team is working on better and less painful treatments for those with the disease and a vaccine to stop kids from getting GAS infection.  The team's ultimate aim is to eliminate rheumatic heart disease in Australia and the rest of the world.

Find out more about our RHD research

For more than two decades, paediatrician and researcher Professor Jonathan Carapetis has been working on rheumatic heart disease. 

Great strides have been made but there is still a long way to go to help kids like Laqueisha. 

Diagnosed with RHD at five years of age, Laqueisha has undergone eight hours of heart surgery and will endure painful injections every month until she's 18.