Guidelines on rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease and strep A sore throat

Access clinical guidelines, tools and information about rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease and strep A sore throat.

The Aotearoa New Zealand Guidelines for the Prevention, Diagnosis, and Management of Acute Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease have been updated. These guidelines provide current best practice clinical guidance for health professionals. 

The 2024 update is the third edition of the guidelines, following previous versions released in 2006 and 2014, with a sore throat management update in 2019. The 2024 update consolidates all previous guidance into a single, comprehensive resource and includes a summary guide for clinicians. 

2024 guidelines and tools

Reference your community HealthPathways in your region for clinical management guidance of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.  
 

Rheumatic Fever Co-Design Initiative

The Rheumatic Fever Co-Design Initiative produced five final reports in 2024 summarising the work and insights from communities and stakeholders to improve the prevention and management of rheumatic fever in Tāmaki Makaurau.  

Reports from the Co-design Initiative can be found here on the Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora website. 

All resources and tools developed from the Co-design Initiative can be found here, including videos, posters, case studies, visual aids and a family meeting guide. In addition, ‘He Kōrero Whakamana: Rheumatic Fever Language Guidelines’ are provided to support health professionals to talk with whānau Māori about rheumatic fever in a way that upholds mana. 

Resources for patients

See our information on rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) for patients.

PDF booklet  

Rheumatic fever and heart disease 

Read stories of people living with RHD