Retrospective epidemiology of acute rheumatic fever: a 10-year review in the Waikato District Health Board area of New Zealand.

BACKGROUND: Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is a preventable disease which remains a prominent burden of health in New Zealand, with an annual incidence comparable to that of developing countries.

AIM: The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of ARF and recurrent ARF cases in the Waikato District Health Board (DHB) area of New Zealand from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2011.

METHODS: A total of 106 cases of ARF and four cases of recurrent ARF were identified through the Public Health Database - EpiSurv and the Hospital coding system, ICD-10.

RESULTS: The overall Waikato DHB annual incidence of ARF was 3.1 per 100,000 population with Maori children aged 5-14 years experiencing higher rates of 46.1 per 100,000 population. Eighty-five percent of the cases were of Maori ethnicity, and 10% Pacific. Almost three-quarters of all cases lived in areas of the three most deprived deciles as described by the New Zealand Deprivation Index 2006.

DISCUSSION: The rates of ARF seen in the Waikato DHB are comparable to that seen previously locally and nationally. High risk groups have been identified as children aged 5-14 years, Maori and Pacific ethnicity, and those living in lower socioeconomic areas which could be targeted by the Rheumatic Fever Prevention Programme (RFPP) with the intention to reduce the incidence of ARF nationally to 0.4 cases per 100,000 population by 2017.