Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is the result of an autoimmune response to pharyngitis caused by infection with the sole member of the group A Streptococcus (GAS), Streptococcus pyogenes. ARF leads to a condition characterized by various combinations of joint pain and swelling, cardiac-valve regurgitation with the potential for secondary heart failure, chorea, skin and subcutaneous manifestations, and fever.

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a disease of poverty that affects children and working-age adults. The global economic impact of early death from RHD is still very high. In Brazil, the average cost of RHD-related damage is around 89 million Brazilian reals (close to US$ 28 million) a year. Information from the Brazilian Unified National Health System database (DATASUS) indicates a cardiac mortality rate of about 7.9% from chronic rheumatic fever (RF).

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