title: Rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in rural South Indian children.
abstract: A preliminary pilot study of streptococcal infection and sequelae was initiated in 23 villages in 1973 using trained field workers for case detection. Part of the pilot programme, in 1974-75, involved 374 rural and 664 urban schoolchildren, and revealed that 14.9% of them had streptococcal pyoderma while pharyngitis was seen in 4.2%. The pilot study also revealed a high prevalence of rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in both rural (5.4/1000) and urban (6.0/1000) pupils. A long-term surveillance study was then undertaken in 3890 pupils attending 15 rural schools, from July 1975 to December 1978, when the prevalence of RF was found to be 0.5/1000 and of RHD, 4.4/1000, giving an overall rate of 4.9/1000. The incidence rate was found to be 1.7/1000 per year in 1976, 1.6/1000 per year in 1977, and 0 in 1978. The rate of compliance with primary prophylaxis was 90-100%, and with secondary prophylaxis was 92-93% of the 27 cases.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012042:Registries; D012213:Rheumatic Fever / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012423:Rural Health; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000302:isolation & purification