Current Status of Rheumatic Fever 1999.5.13

Current Status of Rheumatic Fever 1999.5.13

This disease is an autoimmune disorder caused by Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus, which can lead to fever, arthritis, and myocarditis. Since the 1960s, the incidence of this disease has significantly decreased worldwide, and some foreign experts even believed that it might be completely eradicated. However, since the outbreak of this disease in Salt Lake City, USA, in the 1980s, there have been successive reports of rising incidence in various parts of the world. In China, too, the incidence of this disease has risen markedly since the 1990s. Currently, the diagnosis of this disease still follows the JOME standards established in the 1960s, using erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein (CRP). Recently, serum glycoproteins (mucoproteins) and glycoprotein electrophoresis (glycoproteins and mucoproteins) have emerged, which are more sensitive than erythrocyte sedimentation rate and CRP. Complement C also shows changes the day after rheumatism appears.