What are the causes of rheumatic fever?

What are the causes of rheumatic fever?

Rheumatic fever may develop after strep throat or scarlet fever infections that are not treated properly. Bacteria called group A Streptococcus or group A strep cause strep throat and scarlet fever. It usually takes about 1 to 5 weeks after strep throat or scarlet fever for rheumatic fever to develop.

How do you prevent rheumatic heart disease?

Ideally, ARF and RHD can be prevented. Antibiotic therapy (such as penicillin) to treat GroupA Streptococcus throat infection can dramatically reduce the risk of ARF and its complication, rheumatic heart disease. If ARF or RHD do occur, long-term antibiotics can reduce progression to more severe disease.

What is the medicine for rheumatic heart disease?

Class Summary. The manifestations of acute rheumatic fever (including carditis) typically respond rapidly to therapy with anti-inflammatory agents. Aspirin, in anti-inflammatory doses, is the drug of choice. Prednisone is added when evidence of worsening carditis and heart failure is noted.

How long is the treatment for rheumatic heart disease?

The antibiotic treatment that is most effective in preventing further infection is benzathine penicillin G, which is given by intramuscular injection every 3-4 weeks over many years.

Is rheumatic heart disease hereditary?

Although rheumatic heart disease is caused by an infection, research has shown that some families are more likely to develop the condition than others –a genetic component to developing the disease.

What antibiotics treat rheumatic fever?

Rheumatic fever is preventable by treating strep throat with antibiotics, usually penicillin. If a patient is allergic to penicillin, other antibiotics such as erythromycin (Eryc, Ery-Tab, E.E.S, Eryped, PCE) or clindamycin (Cleocin) can be used.

Who is at high risk for rheumatic fever?

Rheumatic fever most often affects children who are between 5 and 15 years old, though it can develop in younger children and adults. Although strep throat is common, rheumatic fever is rare in the United States and other developed countries. However, rheumatic fever remains common in many developing nations.

How long does rheumatic fever last?

Symptoms usually pass within a few months but can last up to 2 years. They are not normally permanent. Other symptoms include a red, blotchy, skin rash, which appears in 1 in 10 cases. Less common are nosebleeds, abdominal pain, bumps and lumps, or nodules, under the skin, and a high fever over 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

Can rheumatic fever cause problems later in life?

Rheumatic fever is a complication of untreated strep throat that can be life-threatening. Thanks to antibiotics, rheumatic fever is rare in the U.S. and other developed countries. It can cause permanent damage to the heart and heart failure. It is most common in children ages 5 to 15 years old.

What is the most common complication of rheumatic fever?

Once they develop, the symptoms of rheumatic fever can last for months or even years. Rheumatic fever can cause long-term complications in certain situations. One of the most prevalent complications is rheumatic heart disease….If left untreated, rheumatic fever can lead to:

• stroke.
• permanent damage to your heart.
• death.

Does rheumatic fever run in families?

Heredity seems to play a part because the tendency to develop rheumatic fever appears to run in families. In the United States, a child who has a streptococcal throat infection but is not treated has only a less than 1 to 3% chance of developing rheumatic fever.

How can you prevent rheumatic fever?

Primary prevention of acute rheumatic fever is accomplished by proper identification and adequate antibiotic treatment of group A β-hemolytic streptococcal (GAS) tonsillopharyngitis.

How is rheumatic fever transmitted?

Rheumatic fever is not contagious. You can’t give it to or get it from someone else. But strep throat and scarlet fever are contagious. These infections spread through respiratory droplets (by coughing or sneezing on someone else).

Is there a vaccine for rheumatic fever?

There is currently no vaccine for rheumatic fever, but Australian medical scientists are working to develop a Streptococcus vaccine. A vaccine that prevents streptococcal infections wouldalso be expected to prevent rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.

How was rheumatic fever treated in the 1940s?

The introduction of antibiotics (sulphonamides and then penicillin in the 1940s) and the trials conducted during the 1940s and in the USA, demonstrated that penicillin treatment for streptococcal pharyngitis has a preventive effect against rheumatic fever.