Annette
KING
Health Spokesperson
13 June 2014 MEDIA STATEMENT
Rheumatic fever swabbing won’t fix damp and crowded homes
The Government is throwing money at the bottom of the cliff by swabbing children’s sore throats for rheumatic fever
without addressing the causes of the disease, Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King says.
“Detecting and treating rheumatic fever is important. But it fails to address the fact that many children develop
rheumatic fever because they live in damp and overcrowded houses,” Annette King today told the Medical Council
conference in Rotorua today.
“Failing to address the causes means more children are destined to get this preventable disease. What is needed is less
grandstanding about money spent by the Government and more on action on prevention.
“According to the ESR’s Public Health Surveillance, cases of rheumatic fever rose by 25 per cent in a year: from 164 in
2012 to 205 last year.
“The Government must start addressing the causes of poverty. The 285,000 children living in poverty in New Zealand are
at risk of developing rheumatic fever and suffering the permanent and ongoing health problems it causes such as heart
disease.
“Health inequality is one of the big issues facing our country. Research and evidence collected in New Zealand shows
health inequalities must be addressed if we are to improve the health of Kiwis. This is one of Labour’s priorities for
this year’s election.
“While throat swabbing picks up some cases, not all children with rheumatic fever remember having a sore throat. This
has led community paediatrician Nikki Blair to this week call for greater use of ultrasound scans to detect
complications caused by the disease.
“While agencies such as the Ministry of Social Development – which now manages state house applications – realise the
contribution poor housing makes, the Government has cloth ears to any message about poverty and refuses to even measure
it.
“The Government wants to reduce the incidence of rheumatic fever by two-thirds by 2017. This will not happen until
poverty in this country is addressed,” Annette King says.