MOBILE HEART-HEALTH CLINIC IS LAUNCHED IN SOUTH AFRICA
An initiative of the Pan African Society of Cardiology and the World Heart Federation to control rheumatic heart disease in Africa soon will bear fruit in the Republic of South Africa with the deployment of a mobile heart-health clinic. The mobile clinic will detect cases of rheumatic heart disease with the help of an echocardiogram provided by the World Heart Federation.
The mobile clinic has begun service in January 2008 with a pilot surveillance project in the Langa and Bonteheuwel townships near Cape Town. The project attempts to identify unrecognized cases of rheumatic heart disease among children in the two communities, whose total population is approximately 100,000.
The surveillance project is part of the Pan African Society of Cardiology’s and the World Heart Federation’s initiative to prevent and to treat rheumatic heart disease in Africa. The other countries where the initiative is active are Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia.
The three-year-old initiative draws on the World Heart Federation’s broad experience of preventing and controlling rheumatic heart disease in the South Pacific Islands and employs a model called A.S.A.P., which stands for Awareness-raising, Surveillance, Advocacy and Prevention.
Rheumatic heart disease is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children and young adults in South Africa and worldwide. It is caused by rheumatic fever, which can follow a streptococcal infection such as “strep throat”. If not caught early and controlled with antibiotic prophylaxis, it can damage heart valves and cause premature death.
Mobile clinic inaugurated by South African university
The mobile clinic was inaugurated on 3 December 2007 at the University of Cape Town/Groote Schuur Hospital Department of Medicine. The inaugural programme took place as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the first human heart transplant. The keynote speaker was South Africa’s Health Minister Manto Tshabalala.
Bongani Mayosi, who heads the university’s department of medicine and is the country Director for the South African project, called the mobile clinic a “significant boost” to the Pan African Society of Cardiology’s and the World Heart Federation’s attempts address rheumatic heart disease and rheumatic fever.
“This is very much part of a project that is driven by the World Heart Federation for the prevention of rheumatic heart disease in the world,” he said.
“Because rheumatic heart disease affects mainly the poor, it is a condition often neglected by researchers, health educators and the media,” he added. “For example, no accurate, up-to-date statistics are available which can give us an indication of how prevalent the condition is in South Africa. Very little is done to educate children about prevention of heart disease, and even less is done to screen for heart conditions that may lead to heart failure in early adult life. With the mobile clinic we will be able to reach many more children in time.”
The clinic contains a second echocardiogram provided by the Life Healthcare Foundation of South Africa.
Other surveillance studies planned
After the surveillance studies in Langa and Bonteheuwel are completed, other surveillance studies will be carried out in other parts of South Africa. It is expected that the research will both identify and prevent severe disease and yield better information on the number of children affected.
“Of the half a million new cases of rheumatic heart disease per year, 60% are in Africa,” said Jonathan Carapetis, Chairman of the World Heart Federation’s Scientific Council on Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease. “Our aim is to significantly reduce mortality, morbidity and disability among African children and young adults.”
“I had the pleasure of meeting with Prof. Mayosi and other members of the South African ASAP team in Cape Town, and I am incredibly impressed by their talent and enthusiasm” he added. “The mobile clinic will be a great advance.”
To read more about World Heart Federation involvement in rheumatic heart disease and rheumatic fever visit: http://www.world-heart-federation.org/what-we-do/demonstration-projects/rheumatic-heart-disease/africa/.
To read more about the University of Cape Town medical department visit: http://www.uct.ac.za/faculties/health/
To read more about the Pan African Society of Cardiology’s A.S.A.P. initiative visit:
http://www.pascar.co.za/C_ASAP.asp.
