Search
We explore the contemporary landscape of housing investments and initiatives seeking to improve health outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, as well as the dearth of quality evidence and agreed approaches to evaluation.
This Phase-IIa trial evaluates the safety and pharmacokinetics of high-dose, 10 weekly subcutaneous injections of penicillin (SCIP) in young people with a history of acute rheumatic fever (ARF).
Jonathan Carapetis AM AM MBBS FRACP FAFPHM PhD FAHMS Executive Director; Co-Head, Strep A Translation; Co-Founder of REACH 08 6319 1000 contact@
The social determinants of health such as access to income, education, housing and healthcare, strongly shape the occurrence of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease at the household, community and national levels.
Regular intramuscular benzathine penicillin G injections have been the cornerstone of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis since the 1950s. As the pharmacological correlate of protection remains unknown, it is difficult to recommend changes to this established regimen. Determining the minimum effective penicillin exposure required to prevent Streptococcus pyogenes infection will accelerate development of new long-acting penicillins for RHD prevention as well as inform opportunities to improve existing regimens. The CHIPS trial will address this knowledge gap by directly testing protection afforded by different steady state plasma concentrations of penicillin in an established model of experimental human S. pyogenes pharyngitis.
Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease disproportionately affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, with devastating impacts on morbidity, mortality and community wellbeing. Research suggests that general practitioners and primary care staff perceive insurmountable barriers to improving clinical outcomes, including the need for systemic change outside their scope of practice.
Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe, annually causing hundreds of millions of cases of disease.
This study aimed to investigate potential missed diagnoses of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease during hospital-based care among persons subsequently identified with these conditions.
This research sought to provide an outline of identified household-level environmental health initiatives to reduce or interrupt Strep A transmission along each of these pathways.
Monthly intramuscular injections of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) remain the cornerstone of secondary prophylaxis for acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). The barriers to successful delivery of BPG may be patient- or service-delivery-dependent.