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Last night, almost 60 supporters gathered at Adelaide Town Hall for the inaugural The Kids Research Institute Australia Adelaide Lecture, Not Just a Sore Throat: The Race to Stop One of the Deadliest Bugs on the Planet.
Six researchers from The Kids Research Institute Australia have been awarded $8.9 million in prestigious Investigator Grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
An international research team led by The Kids Research Institute Australia has been awarded a $5 million Synergy Grant by the NHMRC.
The Strep A Translation team aim to understand the epidemiology of Strep A infections in Australia and the world. Alongside this, they explore the implementation of endgame recommendations, health economics and new horizons.
Monthly intramuscular injections of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) remain the cornerstone of secondary prophylaxis for acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). The barriers to successful delivery of BPG may be patient- or service-delivery-dependent.
The impact of mitral regurgitation from pediatric rheumatic heart disease and its effect on left ventricular remodeling and function following surgical intervention is uncertain. The objective is to explore the impact of mitral valve surgeries on myocardial mechanics, remodeling and function and identify pre-operative predictors of post-operative dysfunction which may contribute to the optimal timing of intervention.
Regular intramuscular benzathine penicillin G injections have been the cornerstone of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis since the 1950s. As the pharmacological correlate of protection remains unknown, it is difficult to recommend changes to this established regimen. Determining the minimum effective penicillin exposure required to prevent Streptococcus pyogenes infection will accelerate development of new long-acting penicillins for RHD prevention as well as inform opportunities to improve existing regimens. The CHIPS trial will address this knowledge gap by directly testing protection afforded by different steady state plasma concentrations of penicillin in an established model of experimental human S. pyogenes pharyngitis.
Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, with devastating impacts on morbidity, mortality and community wellbeing. Research suggests that general practitioners and primary care staff perceive insurmountable barriers to improving clinical outcomes, including the need for systemic change outside their scope of practice.
Acute rheumatic fever (ARF), a serious inflammatory condition, often leads to rheumatic heart disease. Between 2011 and 2016, Aotearoa New Zealand implemented a rheumatic fever prevention programme to reduce high rates of ARF through improved community access to timely diagnosis and early treatment of group A streptococcal pharyngitis, which has been shown to prevent subsequent ARF.
This study aimed to investigate potential missed diagnoses of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease during hospital-based care among persons subsequently identified with these conditions.