Epidemic of acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis in aboriginal communities.

During 1980, an epidemic of acute glomerulonephritis occurred in a number of Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory, affecting several hundred people. Clinical and laboratory studies of children admitted to the paediatric wards of Darwin Hospital, and of a larger number of individuals in the communities, have established that the nephritis was preceded by a streptococcal infection, and a recognised nephritogenic streptococcal strain was isolated from a number of children. The clinical course of the disease was mild in the majority of those affected and none had had serious complications. Serological results indicate the importance of measuring antideoxyribonuclease B levels as well as antistreptolysin O titres when seeking evidence of antecedent streptococcal infection.