There's been a big increase in the number of Wellington children in hospital with acute rheumatic fever.
The region's public health service has issued an alert, telling doctors, emergency department and Covid-19 testing centres to be on the look out for the disease.
There have been nine Wellington children hospitalised so far this year.
Normally there would only be one or two. Nationwide, there's an increase of 25 percent. Rawiri Jansen is a Papakura GP and the clinical leader for the Maori general practice network the National Hauora Coalition.
He told RNZ health correspondent Rowan Quinn it's a worry to see the disease on the rise.
