Objective: To investigate the prevalence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) among schoolchildren in Guangdong Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Methods: Using a cluster sampling method, an epidemiological survey of RHD was conducted in 16 682 primary and high school students by auscultation in Guangdong Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from 2005 to 2006. Review of the clinical records, RHD survey in adults, and examination of the positivity rate of group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus (GAS) by throat swab cultures in the students aged between 9 and 12 years in the sampled schools were also carried out.
Results: No RHD patient was found in the sampled population. In Xinjiang, the prevalence of RHD was 12.9/1000 among adults, higher than that (2.2/1000) in Guangdong Province. The GAS-positive rate in the schoolchildren in Xinjiang ranged from 9.8% to 12.6%, higher than that in Guangdong (2.3%-3.9%).
Conclusion: The GAS-positive rate among children and incidence of RHD in adults are higher in Xinjiang than in Guangdong. The prevalence of RHD among the schoolchildren shows a reduction compared with that in 1994.