New Zealand and Australia will pump $3 million into finding a potential vaccine for rheumatic fever.
Prime Minister John Key and Australian counterpart Julia Gillard announced the transtasman initiative in Queenstown today during their annual talks.
The two governments will contribute equal shares of $3m in funding over the next two years to identify a potential vaccine for the disease, which can lead to long-term heart damage known as rheumatic heart disease.
In New Zealand, rheumatic heart disease kills about 150 people per year, while hospitalisation for both rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease costs about $12m.
In Australia, the prevalence of rheumatic fever was 25 times higher among indigenous people than other Australians.