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Tools that can be used to collect behavioural data during pandemics are needed to inform policy and practice. The objective of this project was to develop the Your COVID-19 Risk tool in response to the global spread of COVID-19, aiming to promote health behaviour change. We developed an online resource based on key behavioural evidence-based risk factors related to contracting and spreading COVID-19. This tool allows for assessing risk and provides instant support to protect individuals from infection.
Managing bronchiectasis exacerbations is a priority for patients, parents, and caregivers of children with bronchiectasis. However, evidence-based strategies among the pediatric population remain limited.
There is growing evidence to support partial oral antibiotic treatment of severe infections such as Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, but clinical practice is slow to adopt this paradigm. We know little about how patients with severe infection experience and perceive intravenous and oral antibiotics in terms of quality of life and clinical effectiveness. We performed a qualitative study to elicit patients' views on treatment with intravenous and oral antibiotics, aiming to provide insights that could inform collaborative treatment decision-making.
Estimating the temporal trends in infectious disease activity is crucial for monitoring disease spread and the impact of interventions. Surveillance indicators routinely collected to monitor these trends are often a composite of multiple pathogens. For example, "influenza-like illness"-routinely monitored as a proxy for influenza infections-is a symptom definition that could be caused by a wide range of pathogens, including multiple subtypes of influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV.
Infants born before 28 weeks' gestation account for approximately 75% of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Late-onset sepsis (LOS) affects around 25% of these infants and is associated with an increased risk of adverse long-term outcomes. The topical application of coconut oil has been used for centuries in newborn care. Coconut oil is rich in saturated fatty acids, several of which have demonstrated antimicrobial properties. It is considered safe for extremely preterm infants, improves skin condition and may reduce the incidence of LOS.
Inadequate housing and living conditions underpin significant health and wellbeing inequality in Australia, particularly for Indigenous people. This review aimed to define infectious disease (ID) outcomes used to measure the health impact of inadequate housing in Australia within a research context.
Monkeypox virus (MPXV) has been linked to vertical transmission, but systematic data are scarce. We aimed to describe the sociodemographic, clinical, and virological characteristics and assess the frequency and determinants of adverse outcomes in pregnant women with MPXV clade I infection.
The pathogenesis of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) is poorly understood, limiting the development of immune-modulating therapies to treat disease and prevent progressive heart damage. Here, participants with definite ARF were compared to other severe acute paediatric conditions and matched healthy controls by profiling circulating immune molecules and cells to inform disease mechanisms and potential druggable pathways.
In the austral summer of 2021-2022, Australia experienced an unprecedented Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) outbreak, with detections over 3000 km south of previous occurrences. Given the limited knowledge of JEV transmission ecology in Australia, we developed geospatial models of transmission risk to support the public health response. We created time-varying habitat suitability models for suspected mosquito vectors and ardeid hosts using month-scaled occurrence and covariate data from 2000-2023.
In an era of expanding indications for iatrogenic immunosuppression, invasive fungal disease (IFD) remains a significant challenge in immunocompromised children, with case fatality rates ranging from 10 to 70%. Understanding of current recommendations and recent evidence is essential to guide optimal IFD management.