Brief Report: Out of Sight Out of Mind - Preventable Childhood Kidney Disease in the Far North

Abstract

APSGN is an immune-mediated kidney disease that occurs after a Streptococcus pyogenes skin or throat infection in children and contributes to chronic kidney disease later in life. It is a disease of poverty and regrettably common in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. There have been seven documented APSGN outbreaks across Far North Queensland in the last nine years. Despite this disease being notifiable in both Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Queensland is yet to acknowledge the importance of early notification in the management of APSGN. Notification-driven publication of APSGN incidence should help raise its profile and stimulate better public health policy.