BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW AND BERNICE BORN
According to the World Heart Federation, rheumatic heart disease (RHD) currently affects an estimated 15.6 million people, causing more than 233,000 deaths each year. RHD often begins with a strep throat which, when treated, can completely stop this preventable disease.
WiRED International has updated its two-part RHD training module for teachers on the heels of the revision of its RHD module for students. (See recent story.) Part 1 explains the special role teachers can play in combating strep throat, rheumatic fever and RHD. Part 2 presents the problems related to RHD. Because they work with children almost every day, teachers are in a good position to identify symptoms that could lead to RHD.
In addition, WiRED offers a suite of RHD modules in order to educate grass roots audiences and health professionals on how to address RHD with a coordinated approach at the community level. WiRED’s RHD animation describes the three steps by which strep throat can lead to RHD. In the space of a few minutes, the video describes RHD and explains why it is so serious, why it prevails in underserved communities, and why we need to address it.