Pharmacy sore throat checks - rheumatic fever prevention service

Rheumatic fever is a serious but potentially preventable illness that often starts with a sore throat. Without treatment, sore throats can cause rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever can damage you heart — this is called rheumatic heart disease.

Rheumatic fever

Māori or Pacific tamariki and rangatahi aged between 4 and 19 are most at risk of developing rheumatic fever, especially those who:

• have a whānau or family history of rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease or both
• live in a large household or crowded house
• experience difficulties accessing or have been excluded from primary health care
• drink sugar sweetened beverages daily. 

If you or your tamariki or rangatahi are in any of these groups you should get a sore throat or skin infection every time they occur. A child can get rheumatic fever more than once. 

If you are at higher risk of developing rheumatic fever, you must check a sore throat early and get treatment for strep throat with antibiotics. Without treatment, strep throat can cause rheumatic fever, which can damage your heart. 

If you are not at higher risk, rheumatic fever is extremely unlikely for you even if you have a sore throat, so you do not need a swab test.

If you feel very unwell, have a high fever, or just have questions, call:

• your healthcare provider
• Healthline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0800 611 116 

Sore throat checks are available for eligible people at participating pharmacies. This is a swab test or assessment of the throat to see if the streptococcus bacteria is causing the sore throat (strep throat). 

A specially trained pharmacist will do the check. They can answer any questions you have at the time. In some cases, antibiotics are needed to treat the infection. If you need antibiotics after your throat check, the pharmacist will supply them to you. A full course of antibiotics is 10 days. It is important to take the full course of antibiotics.