[Rheumatic fever in Cuba]

Rheumatic fever--is a social disease; it's incidence is connected with the sensitivity of the patients and infection--group A streptococcus. Such factors as social and economic conditions, accessibility of public health services and environmental factors may influence the spread of streptococcus. In the last decade the mortality rate (rheumatic cardiac failure) decreased in the Republic of Cuba from 4.2 x 10(5) in 1968 down to 2.1 in 1985. It's incidence was within 2.1 and 6.0/1.000 (children at an age of 5-14 years).