Rheumatic fever rates on the rise; back to pre-Covid levels

Rheumatic fever rates are on the rise, and have now returned to pre-Covid levels. Despite other high income nations reducing or near eliminating rheumatic fever, New Zealand is still struggling to control the disease. Rheumatic fever is preventable, and Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen says the country has an obligation to eliminate the disease, which disproportionately affects Maori and Pasifika people. He says New Zealand must address over-crowding in homes, and how the health system reaches the most vulnerable. Susie Ferguson speaks to Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen, the chief medical officer at Te Aka Whai Ora, the Maori Health Authority.