Control programs and registers vary by jurisdiction
Under the Rheumatic Fever Strategy, the Australian Government supports rheumatic heart disease (RHD) control programs in 4 jurisdictions (HPA 2017):
- Queensland
- Western Australia
- South Australia
- the Northern Territory.
These programs are funded to support:
- improved clinical care, including improved delivery of and adherence to secondary prophylaxis antibiotics
- provision of education and training for health care providers, individuals, families and communities
- collection and provision of agreed data annually to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) for national monitoring and reporting of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and RHD and measuring program effectiveness in the detection and management of ARF and RHD
- maintenance of a dedicated state-wide patient register and recall system for ARF and RHD.
Although an RHD control program and register operates in New South Wales, this program is not currently covered under the Rheumatic Fever Strategy.
Information from the ARF/RHD registers in these 5 jurisdictions is compiled by the AIHW to provide information about ARF and RHD in Australia.
Box 5.1: Acute rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease registers
All jurisdictions with RHD registers have different notification and data collection practices and therefore the numbers, data quality and completeness in the RHD registers are variable. Table 5.1 summarises the program and register establishment across the jurisdictions.
Type of register or notification | NSW | Qld | WA | SA | NT | Vic | Tas, ACT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RHD control program | 2015 | 2009 | 2009 | 2010 | 1997(a) | – | – |
ARF/RHD register | 2016 | 2014(b) | 2009 | 2012 | 1997 | – | – |
Definite ARF notifiable | 2015 | 1999 | 2007 | 2016 | 1996 | 2023(e) | – |
Probable ARF notifiable | 2015 | 1999 | 2015 | 2016 | 2019 | 2023 | – |
Possible ARF notifiable | 2015 | 1999 | 2015 | 2016 | – | 2023 | – |
Confirmed RHD notifiable | 2015(c) | 2018(d) | 2015 | 2016 | 2019 | 2023 | – |
Borderline RHD notifiable | – | 2018 | 2015 | 2016 | – | 2023 | – |
- The Top End Control Program was established in Darwin in 1997 and expanded in 2000 to include the whole Northern Territory.
- Prior to the current register, Queensland utilised the FERRET electronic patient record system for North Queensland Health facilities from 2009-2014.
- In NSW, RHD is notifiable only in persons aged under 35.
- In Queensland, RHD became a notifiable condition on 1 September 2018.
- In Victoria, both ARF and RHD became a routine notifiable condition on 31 July 2023.
Source: RHDAustralia (ARF/RHD writing group) 2020.
AIHW analysis of National Rheumatic Heart Disease data collection.
HPA (Health Policy Analysis) (2017) Evaluation of the Rheumatic Fever Strategy, Final Report, report to the Australian Government Department of Health, Health Policy Analysis.