Open AccessRheumatic heart disease in Egypt: Gloomy past and promising future
Author(s) -
Khaled Sorour
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the egyptian heart journal /the egyptian heart journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.212
H-Index - 9
eISSN - 2090-911X
pISSN - 1110-2608
DOI - 10.1016/j.ehj.2013.12.083
Subject(s) - medicine , rheumatic fever , sanitation , heart disease , epidemiology , disease , hygiene , developing country , pediatrics , environmental health , health care , intensive care medicine , economic growth , family medicine , immunology , pathology , economics
Rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) have decreased in prevalence in the advanced industrialized nation. In the developing world, RF and RHD although less prevalent than they were 30 to 50years ago, are still a major health problem. Poor socio-economic standards and difficulty of reaching proper primary health care facilities are the main causes of the still relatively high prevalence. This article will discuss in brief the epidemiology of group A beta hemolytic streptococci (GAS) and RF/RHD as well as their global burden. The gloomy past of RF/RHD will hopefully give way to the promising future we all strive to achieve through better social standards, sanitation and hygiene, and availability of better health care for all