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Pathogens
Special Issues
Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease: Recent Advances
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Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease: Recent Advances

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 21536

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Anna Ralph

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
BMedSci, MBBS (Hons1), MPH, DTMH, FRACP, PhD
1. Division Leader, Global and Tropical Health, Menzies School of Health
2. Staff Specialist in Infectious Diseases and General Medicine, Royal Darwin Hospital
3. Co-Director, RHD Australia
Interests: Professor Ralph is the Division Leader of Global and Tropical Health at Menzies School of Health Research in northern Australia, and the co-director of Rheumatic Heart Disease Australia. She is a practicing medical specialist in General Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Royal Darwin Hospital. Her main research interests are tuberculosis, rheumatic fever and Indigenous health
Prof. Dr. Laurens Manning

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
BSc MBChB (Otago), DTM&H (London), FRACP, PhD
1. Program Lead, Penicillin Program, Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, WA, USA
2. University of Western Australia, USA
3. Department of Infectious Diseases, Fiona Stanley Hospital, WA, USA
Interests: Reformulation of penicillin preparations for rheumatic heart disease; Clinical trials and pharmacology of antimalarials; Clinical trials and observational studies of peri-prosthetic joint infection, diabetic foot infections and lower leg cellulitis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a special issue of Pathogens https://0-www-mdpi-com.brum.beds.ac.uk/journal/pathogens on ‘Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease: Recent Advances’.

 

This issue invites articles, reviews or communications which:

  • provides new insights into Group A streptococcus epidemiology, transmission, host response or therapeutics
  • describes clinical approaches to the diagnosis and management of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease
  • reports operational or implementation research which addresses policy-practice or knowledge translation gaps relevant to acute rheumatic fever or rheumatic heart disease

This will build on current international momentum to reduce rates of rheumatic heart disease. We invite you to consider submitting your research for inclusion in this peer-reviewed special issue.


Prof. Dr. Anna Ralph
Prof. Dr. Laurens Manning
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • acute rheumatic fever
  • Group A Streptococcus
  • rheumatic heart disease
  • benzathine penicillin G

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 943 KiB  
Article
Investigation of the Familial Risk of Rheumatic Heart Disease with Systematic Echocardiographic Screening: Data from the PROVAR+ Family Study
by Juliane Franco, Bruno R. Nascimento, Andrea Z. Beaton, Kaciane K. B. Oliveira, Marcia M. Barbosa, Sanny Cristina C. Faria, Nayana F. Arantes, Luana A. Mello, Maria Cecília L. Nassif, Guilherme C. Oliveira, Breno C. Spolaor, Carolina F. Campos, Victor R. H Silva, Marcelo Augusto A. Nogueira, Antonio L. Ribeiro, Craig A. Sable, Maria Carmo P. Nunes and On behalf of the PROVAR+ (Programa de RastreamentO da VAlvopatia Reumática e outras Doenças Cardiovasculares) investigators
Pathogens 2022, 11(2), 139; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens11020139 - 24 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2383
Abstract
We aimed to use echocardiographic (echo) screening to evaluate the risk of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) among the relatives of patients with advanced RHD, who were enrolled in the University Hospital’s outpatient clinics from February 2020 to September 2021. Consenting first-degree relatives were [...] Read more.
We aimed to use echocardiographic (echo) screening to evaluate the risk of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) among the relatives of patients with advanced RHD, who were enrolled in the University Hospital’s outpatient clinics from February 2020 to September 2021. Consenting first-degree relatives were invited for echo screening using handheld devices (GE VSCAN) by non-physicians, with remote interpretation. Matched controls (spouses, neighbors) living in the same household were enrolled in a 1:5 fashion. A standard echo (GE Vivid-IQ) was scheduled if abnormalities were observed. In 16 months, 226 relatives and 47 controls of 121 patients were screened, including 129 children, 77 siblings and 20 parents. The mean age was 40 ± 17 years, 67% of the patients were women, and 239 (88%) lived with the index case for >10 years. Echo findings suggestive of RHD were confirmed in zero controls and 14 (7.5%) relatives (p = 0.05): 11 patients had mild/moderate mitral regurgitation, and four were associated with mitral stenosis and abnormal morphology. Two patients had mild aortic regurgitation and abnormal morphology, which were associated with mild aortic and mitral stenosis, and two patients with advanced RHD had bioprostheses in the mitral (2) and aortic (1) positions. In conclusion, first-degree relatives of individuals with clinical RHD are at greater risk of having RHD, on top of socioeconomic conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease: Recent Advances)
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Review

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12 pages, 500 KiB  
Review
Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease: Highlighting the Role of Group A Streptococcus in the Global Burden of Cardiovascular Disease
by Tangeni Auala, Ben’Lauro Goncalves Zavale, Amam Çhinyere Mbakwem and Ana Olga Mocumbi
Pathogens 2022, 11(5), 496; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens11050496 - 21 Apr 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 8971
Abstract
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes superficial and invasive infections and immune mediated post-infectious sequalae (including acute rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease). Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are important determinants of global cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. ARF is a multiorgan inflammatory [...] Read more.
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes superficial and invasive infections and immune mediated post-infectious sequalae (including acute rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease). Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are important determinants of global cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. ARF is a multiorgan inflammatory disease that is triggered by GAS infection that activates the innate immune system. In susceptible hosts the response against GAS elicits autoimmune reactions targeting the heart, joints, brain, skin, and subcutaneous tissue. Repeated episodes of ARF—undetected, subclinical, or diagnosed—may progressively lead to RHD, unless prevented by periodic administration of penicillin. The recently modified Duckett Jones criteria with stratification by population risk remains relevant for the diagnosis of ARF and includes subclinical carditis detected by echocardiography as a major criterion. Chronic RHD is defined by valve regurgitation and/or stenosis that presents with complications such as arrhythmias, systemic embolism, infective endocarditis, pulmonary hypertension, heart failure, and death. RHD predominantly affects children, adolescents, and young adults in LMICs. National programs with compulsory notification of ARF/RHD are needed to highlight the role of GAS in the global burden of cardiovascular disease and to allow prioritisation of these diseases aimed at reducing health inequalities and to achieve universal health coverage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease: Recent Advances)
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23 pages, 606 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in the Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease Continuum
by Joselyn Rwebembera, Bruno Ramos Nascimento, Neema W. Minja, Sarah de Loizaga, Twalib Aliku, Luiza Pereira Afonso dos Santos, Bruno Fernandes Galdino, Luiza Silame Corte, Vicente Rezende Silva, Andrew Young Chang, Walderez Ornelas Dutra, Maria Carmo Pereira Nunes and Andrea Zawacki Beaton
Pathogens 2022, 11(2), 179; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pathogens11020179 - 28 Jan 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 9251
Abstract
Nearly a century after rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) was eradicated from the developed world, the disease remains endemic in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with grim health and socioeconomic impacts. The neglect of RHD which persisted for a [...] Read more.
Nearly a century after rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) was eradicated from the developed world, the disease remains endemic in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with grim health and socioeconomic impacts. The neglect of RHD which persisted for a semi-centennial was further driven by competing infectious diseases, particularly the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) pandemic. However, over the last two-decades, slowly at first but with building momentum, there has been a resurgence of interest in RF/RHD. In this narrative review, we present the advances that have been made in the RF/RHD continuum over the past two decades since the re-awakening of interest, with a more concise focus on the last decade’s achievements. Such primary advances include understanding the genetic predisposition to RHD, group A Streptococcus (GAS) vaccine development, and improved diagnostic strategies for GAS pharyngitis. Echocardiographic screening for RHD has been a major advance which has unearthed the prevailing high burden of RHD and the recent demonstration of benefit of secondary antibiotic prophylaxis on halting progression of latent RHD is a major step forward. Multiple befitting advances in tertiary management of RHD have also been realized. Finally, we summarize the research gaps and provide illumination on profitable future directions towards global eradication of RHD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease: Recent Advances)
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