Also known as rheumatic fever, blood rheumatism can be the late complication of an infection with group A streptococcus, a pathogen that commonly causes inflammation of the throat (pharyngitis) and tonsils (tonsillitis).
More specifically, rheumatism in the blood is the result of a cross reaction between the antibodies produced by the immune system against streptococcal antigens and some tissue antigens, mainly present in the skin, joints and heart.
The resulting clinical picture varies depending on the location, but the onset symptoms most frequently associated with their presence are joint pain (in the peculiar form of migrating polyarthritis) and fever.
If tonsillitis is not treated properly, the likelihood of getting rheumatism in the blood is higher.
they mainly depend on an autoimmune reaction, supported by a structural similarity between some antigens of the bacterium and those of our organism; this phenomenon is known as antigenic mimicry.
The consequence of this abnormal activation of the immune system is a multisystem inflammatory disease, which also results in arthritis, valve dysfunctions and rheumatic heart disease (ie inflammation of the endocardium, myocardium and pericardium).
or of tonsillitis from Streptococcus pyogenes (or group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus), inadequately treated.This was quite common before antibiotics were introduced into medical practice. Currently, in industrialized countries, the incidence is low: rheumatism in the blood affects 1 person in 100,000, without distinction between men and women.
