BACKGROUND The incidence of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) has waned in Western countries, however that is not the situation in developing nations. METHODS Records were reviewed of patients from the Eastern Cape municipal districts who presented to the Paediatric Cardiology Unit with ARF and RHD from January 2008 to August 2015. RESULTS Total of 56 patients wi...

It is recognized that rheumatic fever occurs more frequently in individuals from low income groups than in those from economic groups with greater income. In a recent study (1), the diets of 50 rheumatic children from families of low income were analyzed and compared with those of 50 non-rheumatic children from families on high income. Striking differences were found. The diets of the rheumatic...

Cardiac lesions like those characteristic of rheumatic fever in man have been induced in a small portion of rabbits that were subjected to successive focal infections with group A streptococci of several serological types. Fresh myocardial interstitial granulomata so induced bear striking resemblance to Aschoff bodies, the histologic hallmarks of human active rheumatic fever; and the fresh and ...

There has been a decline in the incidence of acute rheumatic fever in recent decades in developed countries and in Taiwan. Sydenham's chorea, a major manifestation of rheumatic fever, was the most common cause of chorea in children in the past. But the incidence of Sydenham's chorea has declined in recent years in concert with the decline in rheumatic fever. Sydenham's chorea is usually bilater...

Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that may develop after an infection with group A 1, 2 Streptococcus bacteria. The disease can affect the heart, joints, skin and brain. Complications of rheumatic fever are arrhythmias, damage to the heart valves, endocarditis, heart failure, pericarditis and 3 Sydenham's chorea. The most important way to prevent rheumatic fever is by getting quick tre...

Rheumatic fever is an auto-immune disease caused by exposure to Streptococcus pyogenes. Over the last 50 years, reports of rheumatic fever within the United States have diminished. The decrease was attributed to the advent of penicillin in the treatment of streptococcus infections. We propose that current diagnostic and treatment methodologies may adversely increase the morbidity rate of rheuma...

In the final Jones criteria, different diagnostic criteria were established for the diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever for low risk and moderate-high risk populations. Turkey was found to be compatible with moderate-high risk populations as a result of regional screenings performed in terms of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. The changes in the diagnostic criteria for low-risk...

Rheumatic fever is currently the major cause of acquired heart disease among children in South Africa.1 The incidence of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is not declining. Recent figures quote the incidence of rheumatic fever as 0.6 0.7/1 000 population in the USA and Japan compared with 15 21/1 000 population in Asia and Africa.2 In a study conducted in 1975 in Sow...

Since the beginning of this century rheumatic fever has been studied more thoroughly and various theories have been postulated, ascribing the disease to non-specific streptococcal infection,’ allergic to non-specific allergen2, virus hypothesis , and streptococcal beta-haemolyticus infection with abnormal antigen-antibody response.4 With advance in the field of bacteriological investigations, e...