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The latest publications and resources from the END RHD CRE Team

Visit from On Track Watch Community Researchers helps build a pathway of looking at two different cultures

For Aboriginal Community Researchers Minitja Marawili and Yunutju Gondarra, the work of the END RHD CRE is deeply personal.

Host-dependent resistance of Group A Streptococcus to sulfamethoxazole mediated by a horizontally-acquired reduced folate transporter

Described antimicrobial resistance mechanisms enable bacteria to avoid the direct effects of antibiotics and can be monitored by in vitro susceptibility testing and genetic methods. Here we describe a mechanism of sulfamethoxazole resistance that requires a host metabolite for activity.

Evaluation of a Community-Led Program for Primordial and Primary Prevention of Rheumatic Fever in Remote Northern Australia

Environmental factors including household crowding and inadequate washing facilities underpin recurrent streptococcal infections in childhood that cause acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and subsequent rheumatic heart disease (RHD).

The burden of bacterial skin infection, scabies and atopic dermatitis among urban-living Indigenous children in high-income countries: a protocol for a systematic review

Bacterial skin infections and scabies disproportionately affect children in resource-poor countries as well as underprivileged children in high-income countries. Atopic dermatitis is a common childhood dermatosis that predisposes to bacterial skin infection.

Improving the well-being for young people living with rheumatic heart disease: A peer support pilot program through Danila Dilba Health Service

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia have an inequitable burden of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD), concentrated among young people and necessitating ongoing medical care during adolescence. There is an unmet need for improved well-being and support for these young people to complement current biomedical management.

Primary prevention of acute rheumatic fever

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is an abnormal immune reaction following Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) infection of the throat, and likely the skin. Primary prevention is the prompt and appropriate antibiotic treatment of Strep A infection, and it can reduce the risk of developing ARF and subsequent rheumatic heart disease.

Rheumatic Heart Disease Endgame Strategy: what does it mean to community?

Across Australia, more than 5,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are currently living with rheumatic heart disease (RHD) or its precursor, acute rheumatic fever (ARF).

Laqueisha's story: living with RHD

Laqueisha was just five years old when she was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease and sent on a 5,000km return trip to Perth for major heart surgery.

$35 million to develop vaccine with potential to save half a million lives per year

A vaccine to prevent rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and other life-threatening conditions caused by the common Strep A bacteria is a step closer thanks to funding announced by Minister for Indigenous Health, Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP, in Perth today.