The Perth Declaration to eliminate rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease

“This is not a failure to solve a hard scientific problem. It is a failure to deliver an 80-year-old antibiotic to a list of people we have already identified.”

“Most people living with rheumatic heart disease are in low- and middle-income countries, where access to effective prevention and treatment remains limited. Although important scientific challenges remain, we already know enough to prevent much of the suffering this disease causes.”

“Rheumatic heart disease is entirely preventable but persists because of poverty, overcrowded housing and unequal access to care. This congress brings the world's best minds to Australia to turn evidence into action.”