Authors:
Wyber R, Zühlke L, Carapetis J
Authors notes:
Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 2014;92(10):768-70
Keywords:
Rheumatic heart disease, disease burden, control programmes, public health, global health
Abstract:
Rheumatic heart disease comprises a small proportion of the total global disease burden according to current estimates. A rare complication of a streptococcal throat infection, rheumatic heart disease causes heart valve damage and progressive heart failure. The cause and course of this disease can be difficult to explain to policy-makers and to people at risk. The relative burden and complexity of the disease have contributed to its neglect by governments, donors and decision-makers. We argue that the World Health Organization (WHO) and national governments should rekindle their rheumatic heart disease control programmes.