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Lessons from the Recent Outbreaks of Rheumatic Fever in the United States

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Pediatric Cardiology Updates

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Summary

After declining in incidence for many years, rheumatic fever had an unexpected resurgence among middle-class children in the United States. The incidence of carditis was unusually high, and was more severe than had been seen in recent years. The most likely reason for the return of rheumatic fever was increased virulence of Group A streptococci and the reappearance of rheumatogenic strains of this organism. It is hoped that the experience gained from this resurgence will contribute to the development of a streptococcal vaccine and to the eradication of rheumatic fever, a major cause of heart disease in many areas of the world.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA

    Milton Markowitz

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  1. Milton Markowitz
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 7, Chung-Shan S. Road, Taipei, Taiwan 100, R.O.C.

    Hung-Chi Lue M.D., Ph.D. (Professor of Pediatrics, Director and Attending Pediatric Cardiologist, Chairman) (Professor of Pediatrics, Director and Attending Pediatric Cardiologist, Chairman)

  2. Division of Pediatric Cardiology, National Taiwan University Hospital, No. 7, Chung-Shan S. Road, Taipei, Taiwan 100, R.O.C.

    Hung-Chi Lue M.D., Ph.D. (Professor of Pediatrics, Director and Attending Pediatric Cardiologist, Chairman) (Professor of Pediatrics, Director and Attending Pediatric Cardiologist, Chairman)

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© 1997 Springer Japan

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Markowitz, M. (1997). Lessons from the Recent Outbreaks of Rheumatic Fever in the United States. In: Lue, HC. (eds) Pediatric Cardiology Updates. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-65886-3_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-65886-3_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Tokyo

  • Print ISBN: 978-4-431-65888-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-4-431-65886-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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