Rethinking Rheumatic Fever Diagnosis: Progress, Pitfalls and the Path Towards a Definitive Test

Citation:
Ralph AP, Webb R, Parks T, ……. Bowen AC, Jones B, et al. Rethinking Rheumatic Fever Diagnosis: Progress, Pitfalls and the Path Towards a Definitive Test. Med J Aust. 2026;224(9).

Keywords:
Indigenous health; biomarkers; rheumatic heart disease

Abstract:
Elimination of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as a public health problem requires a multifaceted approach, including better primordial and primary prevention and early case detection and treatment of rheumatic fever, the autoimmune precursor to RHD. Here, we reflect on progress made in the decade since the 2015 revision of the Jones Criteria for rheumatic fever diagnosis.