[Epidemiological survey of rheumatic heart disease in schoolchildren in Guangdong and Xinjiang].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among schoolchildren in Guangdong Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.


METHODS
Using a cluster sampling method, an epidemiological survey of RHD was conducted in 16 682 primary and high school students by auscultation in Guangdong Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from 2005 to 2006. Review of the clinical records, RHD survey in adults, and examination of the positivity rate of group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (GAS) by throat swab cultures in the students aged between 9 and 12 years in the sampled schools were also carried out.


RESULTS
No RHD patient was found in the sampled population. In Xinjiang, the prevalence of RHD was 12.9/1000 among adults, higher than that (2.2/1000) in Guangdong Province. The GAS-positive rate in the schoolchildren in Xinjiang ranged from 9.8% to 12.6%, higher than that in Guangdong (2.3%-3.9%).


CONCLUSIONS
The GAS-positive rate among children and incidence of RHD in adults are higher in Xinjiang than in Guangdong. The prevalence of RHD among the schoolchildren shows a reduction compared with that in 1994.
Institute of Cardiovascular Disease of Guangdong Province, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China.
Mu-lan
ML
Deng
He
H
Li
Jian-guang
JG
Chen
Kan
K
Sha
Yan-qing
YQ
Chen
Chong-xuan
CX
Yang
Cheng-ye
CY
Guo
Hua
H
Yao
Xiao-qing
XQ
Liu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D015995:Prevalence; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae