This Monday, around forty 6th graders from Paea College were screened for RAA. A quick and painless examination, carried out by doctors and nurses under the supervision of the Health Department. The objective is to identify asymptomatic children in order to refer them to a cardiologist. The treatment of Raa is covered 100% by the CPS.
“Its good !”, said the doctor. It’s a relief for this student from the college of Paea… no symptoms of Raa, acute articular rheumatism. An assessment obtained in just 5 minutes thanks to an ultrasound.
Recently, doctors have been using ultrasound because it is 10 times more accurate than a stethoscope. It allows better detection of anomalies. “There are two main abnormalities in the Raa: mitral insufficiency (lack of sealing of the valves) and aortic insufficiency. In fact the valves close incompletely because of the inflammatory reaction linked to the disease. It eventually leads to a problem with the functioning of the heart which leads, when it is very advanced, to heart surgery.explains Jean-Marc Ségalin, doctor at the Raa center at the Health Department.
At the origin of the disease, a virus favored by the climate and thefamily environment. For specialists, the eradication of this disease is entirely possible. “In the Pacific, the indigenous populations are the most severely affected, there is a prevalence in Polynesia around 4 to 5% probably. In mainland France, there is almost no more Raa, which justifies the screening program”adds Jean-Marc Ségalin.
Carried out in schools, the screening campaign helps to raise awareness among young people and parents about this disease.
Last year, thanks to screening, 2,800 school children were tested. 91 of them were declared carriers of Raa sequelae.