Western Australian doctors are now required by law to report all cases of rheumatic heart disease, a move designed to strengthen the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the potentially deadly condition.
Rheumatic heart disease or RHD is often labelled as a third-world disease but Indigenous Australians, particularly children, have amongst the highest rates in the world.
RHD develops after repeated bouts of acute rheumatic fever (ARF), an illness caused by a reaction to a bacterial infection with the group A streptococcal.
ARF causes inflammation affecting the joints, heart, brain and skin. While most effects resolve, the damage to the heart can be permanent.
That permanent heart damage is known as RHD. It can lead to heart failure, cardiac surgery or even death.
While ARF has been a notifiable disease in WA since 2007, RHD has not.
The Kids Research Institute Australia Director, Professor Jonathon Carapetis, who also chairs Western Australia's RHD program clinical advisory group, said the move is a positive step forward in the battle against both diseases. 
"Neither RHD nor ARF are infectious but mandatory reporting of both conditions will strengthen our data on them and enable us to better target our prevention and treatment programs to those who need it," Professor Carapetis said.
Professor Carapetis says it will also help to raise awareness of RHD.
"RHD is a disease of poverty, which is caused by overcrowding and poor living conditions. It is a preventable disease, yet continues to take far too many young Australian lives."
WA is the first jurisdiction in Australia to mandate the reporting of both ARF and RHD. Professor Carapetis said he hoped other states would soon follow Western Australia's lead.
To read more about RHD, click here.