Sore throat treatment can prevent rheumatic heart disease

A new paper published in Global Heart suggests that sore throat treatments could help in the prevention of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and acute rheumatic fever (ARF) in children and adolescents. The paper is written by Dr. Liesl Zühlke from the University of Cape Town and Red Cross War Memorial Children`s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa and Dr. Ganesan Karthikeyan from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

„Primary prevention is an essential tool for prevention in the absence of a cure for ARF and RHD, and the monumental expense of surgical intervention in patients with these conditions”, say the authors. The first issue is related to the fact that in countries with low – and middle-incomes, sore throat is not a serious disease that needs a visit to the nearest medical center that is probably miles away.

 The following problem is related to the fact that for children, such cures are costly. They conclude: „Rheumatic heart disease is unique among chronic cardiovascular diseases in several ways. It is entirely preventable. It is among the few chronic cardiovascular diseases of choldhoos, adolescence, and young adulthood, and straddles the silos of infectious and non-communicable diseases and, therefore, represents perfectly the needs of developing countries in the 21st century, now dealing increasingly with this double burden. Primary prevention is the cornerstone of any RHD program and integration into existing primary care systems should be a priority”.