Listen Now: 
Auckland University researchers want to know whether school-based clinics are helping to prevent acute rheumatic fever.
Project leader Professor Diana Lennon says the Health Research Council-funded study will look at the Counties Manukau, Auckland and Bay of Plenty district health board regions.
The number of children with Group A streptococcal sore throat will be measured before and after the commencement of school clinics.
Strep throat can lead to acute rheumatic fever and associated heart disease, causing reduced life span in some.
The rates of acute rheumatic fever in Maori and Pacific communities are 30 to 60 times higher than in European and Asian people.
Professor Lennon says factors like over-crowding in households, poor access to healthcare and lack of health knowledge are important factors in the spread of the disease.
Copyright © 2014, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
RELATED NEWS
