Sadly it was reported to me last week that two children, one a teenager, had died at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) whilst suffering from rheumatic heart disease (RHD).
It is known that RHD is a common cardiovascular disease in children and young adults and a major health concern in the Solomon Islands, as well as in several other Pacific countries.
It is particularly concerning to me the apparent difficulties in the diagnosis of the disease, in terms of international accepted diagnostic criteria and perhaps because of the limited laboratory facilities available at the NRH and, reportedly, the believed significant morbidity and mortality because of the current inability to be able to quickly transfer RHD patients offshore for cardiovascular treatment and often surgery to give RHD patients a second chance at life.
I am not qualified to write about treatment options in the early stages of the disease but do know that the antibodies produced as a response to the infection are thought to slowly damage the heart valves, in particular the mitral valve, potentially leading to rheumatic heart disease. Regular injections of long-acting penicillin help to reduce the number of bacteria.
While preoccupied with concerns over RHD, I read today some news about a possible vaccine being studied by the University of Aukland which gives me hope for those with RHD.
I very much hope that funding will give foundational support for laboratory testing, pathogen surveillance, and vaccine clinical trials which will very soon benefit all patients suffering from RHD in the Solomon Islands and in all other Pacific Island neighbors.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
