In a message dated 11/12/2002 4:31:05 PM Mountain Standard Time, NJ-MEMORIES-D-request@rootsweb.com writes: > I remember two of my > sisters caught romatic fever when they were in their teens, and both died > in > their forty's from heart problems. > Rheumatic fever is caused by the strep bug, the same one that causes strep throat and scarlet fever. The difference is that in rheumatic fever something about the germ (I believe it's a toxin that it puts out, but I'd have to check my med books to be sure) attacks joints, heart valves, and sometimes the nervous system. The sufferer gets swollen, painful joints, and sometimes has so much damage done to the heart valves that they need to be replaced. Badly damaged valves can lead to heart failure and possibly death. Another complication is the nervous-system one, the twitching called chorea or "St. Vitus' Dance." None of it is any fun. Fortunately, rheumatic fever is pretty rare now, thanks to antibiotic treatment for strep infections. So is Bright's Disease, where strep attacks the kidneys and causes them to fail. Doris in Colorado (Up2Nutrix@aol.com) "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -- Jim Elliot, missionary and martyr