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Acute Rheumatic Fever Diagnosis Collaborative Network (ARC)

ARC is a global network of collaborators committed to reducing the burden of RHD in our lifetime.

Defining Group A Streptococcus interaction with the tonsil epithelium to inform vaccine development

A vaccine that prevents the initial attachment of Strep A to the tonsils would reduce the incidence of Strep throat and severe diseases that result.

Improved diagnosis, treatment and prevention of recurrent tonsillitis

Strep A causes over 775 million infections each year world-wide, including over 615 million cases of tonsil infection (Strep throat).

Skin Microbiome

The skin is home to an array of bacteria, fungi and viruses, which together make up the skin microbiome. We explore how the skin microbiome can contribute to healthy skin.

What risk does underlying trimethoprim resistance pose for the development of cotrimoxazole-resistant skin infections

Investigating what risk does underlying trimethoprim resistance pose for the development of cotrimoxazole-resistant skin infections.

A diagnostic test for acute rheumatic fever (pilot study)

Currently there are no diagnostic tests for ARF, and no treatments targeting immune responses to improve disease outcomes.

CXCR3 is associated with T-cell-induced heart damage in acute rheumatic fever

The pathogenesis of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is poorly understood, limiting the development of immune-modulating therapies to treat disease and prevent progressive heart damage. Here, participants with definite ARF were compared to other severe acute paediatric conditions and matched healthy controls by profiling circulating immune molecules and cells to inform disease mechanisms and potential druggable pathways.

The value of molecular point-of-care testing for Group A Streptococcal pharyngitis in a remote, non-clinical Australian setting

Group A Streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis is an important precursor infection to severe complications including rheumatic fever and invasive GAS. Rapid molecular point of care testing (POCT) for GAS infection has advantages over traditional microbiological culture, especially in settings with limited or absent laboratory infrastructure and where GAS complications predominate.

Longitudinal surveillance of group A streptococcal pharyngitis and impetigo in remote Western Australian school children informs acute rheumatic fever prevention

The prevalence of impetigo and pharyngitis - which are both superficial group A streptococcus (GAS) infections that precede acute rheumatic fever - is poorly defined. Guidelines recommend the early diagnosis of both infections to prevent ARF; however, screening to enable the concurrent detection of these infections in high-risk populations has rarely been performed. 

Recombinational exchange of M-fibril and T-pilus genes generates extensive cell surface diversity in the global group A Streptococcus population

Among genes present in all group A streptococci (GAS), those encoding M-fibril and T-pilus proteins display the highest levels of sequence diversity, giving rise to the two primary serological typing schemes historically used to define strain. A new genotyping scheme for the pilin adhesin and backbone genes is developed and, when combined with emm typing, provides an account of the global GAS strain population.