Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Australia
Recent releases
Cardiovascular disease and its associated risk factors in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples 2004-05 (5 June 2008) (media release and publication)
Comorbidity of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic kidney disease in Australia (9 August 2007) (media release and publication)
Popular titles
 Australia's health 2008 |
 Australia's welfare 2007 |
What are rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease?
Acute rheumatic fever is a delayed complication of an untreated throat infection from Group A Streptococcus bacteria and it may also be caused by streptococcal skin sores. Rheumatic heart disease is caused by damage done to heart muscle or heart valves by acute rheumatic fever.
Key facts
| Prevalence - number of Australians with condition in 2006 | 1,402 |
|---|---|
| Incidence - new cases in 2002-06 (a) | 350 |
| Hospitalisations in 2006-07 | 2,561 |
| Deaths in 2006 | 285 |
(a) includes Top End of Northern Territory and Central Australia only. All were Indigenous Australians.
Did you know?
- Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are a major problem in Indigenous Australians. Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples living in remote areas have among the highest rates of these diseases in the world. In contrast, these diseases are rare in other Australians.
- Death rates from rheumatic fever for Indigenous Australian males and females over the period 2002-05 are higher than for other Australians -15 and 23 times as high, respectively.
- Incidence of acute rheumatic fever among Indigenous Australians is 1.1 per 1,000 in the Top End of the Northern Territory and 1.4 per 1,000 in Central Australia in 2002-06.
More information
Publications showing detailed statistics (free full text)
Deaths from rheumatic heart disease and rheumatic fever
Hospitalisations from rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (hospital data cubes)