The Hawke's Bay Magpies visited Flaxmere schools yesterday to kick off a public health campaign to combat rheumatic fever.
Six Magpies rugby players got in behind the Say Ahh campaign that will see students at Flaxmere Primary, Flaxmere College, Peterhead, Irongate and Kimi Ora schools have their throats swabbed free of
charge, in a bid to bring down Hawke's Bay's high prevalence of the Third World disease.
Say Ahh reminded parents and children about the importance of getting sore throats checked, because in some cases there may be a risk of acute rheumatic fever.
Five cases of the disease were reported in the Bay last year, above the national average of less than three.
Flaxmere alone reported seven cases in the past 12 months.
Flaxmere's rate of rheumatic fever in children under 14 was nearly 18 times the national average at 32 cases in every 10,000 people.
The disease was associated with poverty, overcrowding, inadequate housing and poor healthcare access, and the figures prompted the Healthy Populations Group at the Hawke's Bay DHB and Te Taiwhenua O Heretaunga to develop the schools' programme.
Magpies Israel Dagg and Trent Boswell-Wakefield could also be spotted around Flaxmere on Say Ahh billboards.
The disease was easily preventable, and the culprit bacteria could be detected by a painless throat swab and treated with a course of antibiotics.
Left unchecked, rheumatic fever can cause permanent heart damage.
