2013-02-28 07:18:26 -
Novartis International AG /
Novartis collaboration aims to eliminate rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in
Zambia, Africa
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* RHD has been eliminated in most developed nations, but sub-Saharan Africa
studies show at least 2-3% of school-age children suffer from this often
fatal disease[1]
* Collaboration between Novartis physicians, Zambian healthcare providers,
cardiologists from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Pan-African
Cardiology Society will promote RHD prevention by treating children with
streptococcal infections and silent RHD
* The collaboration will screen 3,000 Zambian children by echocardiography and
provide monthly penicillin injections to children with silent RHD to prevent
recurrent strep throat and associated cardiac damage
Basel, Switzerland/Cambridge, MA, February 28, 2013 - Novartis today announced
that it has launched an effort to eliminate rheumatic heart disease in Zambia in
collaboration with the Lusaka University Teaching Hospital (UTH), the Ministry
of Health in Zambia, the Pan-African Cardiology Society and Massachusetts
General Hospital (MGH).
RHD is a complication of untreated streptococcal infections in which the valves
of the heart are scarred and eventually degenerate, leading to heart failure.
Eliminated by antibiotic treatment in most developed nations, in the developing
world an estimated 15 million children suffer from this debilitating and often
fatal disease[1].
"The toll of heart failure in young children with RHD in Zambia is immense, for
the patient, their families, and the nation," said Mark C. Fishman, Cardiologist
and President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR). "It is
entirely preventable. For the past several years Novartis has been working with
colleagues in Lusaka to help understand and treat asthma in young children. We
are expanding the collaboration to raise awareness, educate, and provide
antibiotic therapy to prevent RHD."
To measure RHD prevalence and identify those in need of secondary prophylaxis,
teams of health care professionals from Lusaka UTH, the MGH, and Novartis will
use portable echocardiography machines to evaluate 3,000 children, ages 9-10, in
Lusaka-area public schools. Echocardiography screening is estimated to detect
more than 10 times as many cases as clinical screening[1].
Images from the echocardiography screens will be analyzed in Zambia and at the
MGH using a cloud-based electronic registry developed by Dimagi Inc, a
Cambridge, MA-based company that designs open-source electronic healthcare
systems for low resource environments.
Children identified as having RHD will be treated with monthly penicillin
injections (termed "secondary prophylaxis") to prevent recurrent streptococcal
infections and additional valve damage.
Primary prevention, the treatment of children with streptococcal infection to
prevent RHD, is key to elimination of the disease. To this end, all children
diagnosed with strep throat will be treated with injectable penicillin in the
community-based study sites. Prevalence of RHD and adherence to secondary
prophylaxis will be determined via the mobile electronic registry.
"We have assembled an experienced team from MGH who are excited to bring the
mobile heart imaging technology to Zambia," stated Michael H. Picard, MD,
Director of Echocardiography at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a Past
President of the American Society of Echocardiography. "We are creating a model
for country-wide screening through schools that will not only raise awareness of
the magnitude of this disease but also offer a simple method to identify those
who will benefit from a very simple and safe treatment. The MGH Cardiology
Division and its Cardiac Ultrasound Laboratory are delighted to be a partner in
this initiative."
The Pan-African Cardiology Society will assist with the development of the study
protocol and ethics approval. Based on the experience of the initial Lusaka-
based effort, Novartis plans to support the rollout of the RHD training and
treatment effort to Provinces across Zambia, with the ultimate goal of
eliminating RHD in Zambia.
"Rheumatic heart disease is the most common acquired heart ailment in Zambian
children, but statistics are spotty and the disease is certainly diagnosed late
when damage to the heart valves has already reached advanced stage," said John
Musuku, Principal Investigator and UTH pediatrician. "Our hope is that the
collaboration with Novartis will lay the foundation to detect the disease early
so preventative measures are instituted. This is an effort to eradicate the
disease across Zambia in our life time."
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information, future events or otherwise.
About Novartis
The Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) is the global
pharmaceutical research organization for Novartis. NIBR's research network is
comprised of more than 6,000 scientists, physicians and business professionals
working together across more than ten locations to discover innovative medicines
to treat diseases with high unmet medical need.
Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, NIBR is an affiliate of Novartis
AG, which provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving
needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis
offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines,
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References
[1]
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa065085#t=articleTop
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