Introduction
Acute rheumatic fever (ARF) arises from what may start as a mild throat infection, but the announcement by the New Zealand Government in its 2013 budget that it would allocate $20 million for treating and preventing the disease shows the impact it is having in poorer communities in this country. The new funding for tackling ARF adds to a $24 million investment by the Government in the rheumatic fever prevention programme, designed to reduce the incidence of ARF in New Zealand by two-thirds by 2017. (1)