RHEUMATIC Heart Disease (RHD) is a common yet preventable heart condition, causing significant health problems through childhood and into early adulthood.
RHD is the second most common cause of death among 5-29-year-olds in Fiji and studies have shown that RHD affects as many as 1 in 50 children in Fiji.
People living with RHD are required to have monthly penicillin injections for a minimum of ten years.
And so this month is rheumatic fever awareness month.
Repeated episodes of rheumatic fever leads to RHD with the Fiji Times publishing stories of youths and young adults living with this disease and other issues to mark the month long campaign.
We begin today with a 19-year-old RHD survivor who says RHD is not something a child is born with.
For more on the story get a copy of today’s Fiji Times and on our e-edition.
