Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia

Web report

Last updated: 11 Oct 2019

Author: AIHW

Media release

AIHW

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019. Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia. Cat. no. CVD 86. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 20 January 2020, https://pp.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/acute-rheumatic-fever-rheumatic-heart-disease

APA

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia. Retrieved from https://pp.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/acute-rheumatic-fever-rheumatic-heart-disease

MLA

Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 11 October 2019, https://pp.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/acute-rheumatic-fever-rheumatic-heart-disease

Vancouver

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia [Internet]. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019 [cited 2020 Jan. 20]. Available from: https://pp.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/acute-rheumatic-fever-rheumatic-heart-disease

Harvard

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2019, Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia, viewed 20 January 2020, https://pp.aihw.gov.au/reports/indigenous-australians/acute-rheumatic-fever-rheumatic-heart-disease

Enter the email address where you would like the PDF sent. This address will not be used for any other purpose.

This report presents data from the National Rheumatic Heart Disease data collection, collated from the acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) registers in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

ARF and RHD are preventable diseases affecting disadvantaged populations. This report shows that ARF rates increase with remoteness, and that rates are highest in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Australians, females and in young people aged 5–14 years.

Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease: in brief is a companion to this report.

Cat. no: CVD 86

Findings from this report:

In 2013–2017, the rate of new RHD diagnoses was greatest in the NT (37 per 100,000 population)
Nearly 60% of Indigenous Australians diagnosed with RHD are under 25 when diagnosed.
Most ARF diagnoses in 2013–2017 (94%, 1,776 diagnoses) were among Indigenous Australians
In 2017, 36% of Indigenous Australians prescribed preventive penicillin received 80% or more of prescribed doses

Abbreviations & symbols

ABS Australian Bureau of Statistics

AIHW Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

ARF acute rheumatic fever

BPG Benzathine penicillin G

GAS Group A streptococcal infection

NT Northern Territory

Qld Queensland

RHD rheumatic heart disease

RFDS Royal Flying Doctor Service

SA South Australia

WA Western Australia

WHO World Health Organization

Symbols

— nil or rounded to zero

. . not applicable

n.p. not publishable because of small numbers, confidentiality or other concerns about the quality of the data

Find reports & data by topic

Featured

Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia

Citation

AIHW

APA

MLA

Vancouver

Harvard

Abbreviations & symbols

Symbols

AIHW

Feedback