Increase in Wellington children with rheumatic fever

There's been a sudden increase the number of Wellington children who've been hospitalised with acute rheumatic fever this year. The region's public health service has issued an alert, telling covid-19 testing centres, pharmacies and doctors to be on the look out for the disease and to swab at risk kids. The disease can cause lifelong heart problems and take years off people's lives. A Porirua GP, Bryan Betty, told our health correspondent, Rowan Quinn, the government and DHBs have dropped the ball in the fight against rheumatic fever.