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Research

Influenza is the most common vaccine-preventable disease in Australia, causing significant morbidity and mortality. We assessed the burden of influenza across all ages in terms of influenza-associated mortality and hospitalizations using national mortality, hospital-discharge and influenza surveillance data.

Research

Otitis media (OM; middle ear infection) is the most common reason for pre-school children to visit a doctor, be prescribed antimicrobials, or undergo surgery. Recent Cochrane reviews of clinical trials have identified that antibiotics and grommet surgery are only moderately effective in treating OM, with recurrent or persistent infection observed in one-third of children. Research efforts are focusing on developing improved therapies to treat OM and prevent disease recurrence.

Research

Pregnant women are at higher risk of severe complications following influenza infection compared to the general population. Influenza vaccination during pregnancy can offer direct protection to pregnant women and passive immunity to infants up to 6 months of age via maternal antibodies. Pregnant women are a high priority group for influenza immunization.

Research

COVID-19 has caused a global public health crisis affecting most countries, including Ethiopia, in various ways. This study maps the vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death from COVID-19 in Ethiopia. Thirty-eight potential indicators of vulnerability to COVID-19 infection, case severity and likelihood of death, identified based on a literature review and the availability of nationally representative data at a low geographic scale, were assembled from multiple sources for geospatial analysis. Geospatial analysis techniques were applied to produce maps showing the vulnerability to infection, case severity and likelihood of death in Ethiopia at a spatial resolution of 1 km×1 km.

Research

The epidemiology and clinical manifestations of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are different in children and adolescents compared with adults. Although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appears to be less common in children, with milder disease overall, severe complications may occur, including paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome.

Research

To present Australia-wide data on paediatric COVID-19 and multisystem inflammatory syndromes to inform health service provision and vaccination prioritisation. Design Prospective, multicentre cohort study. Setting Eight tertiary paediatric hospitals across six Australian states and territories in an established research surveillance network - Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease (PAEDS).

Research

Cryptococcosis caused by the Cryptococcus neoformans-Cryptococcus gattii complex is an important opportunistic infection in people with immunodeficiency, including in the haematology/oncology setting.

Research

Rapid blood culture pathogen identification facilitated by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight and GeneXpert has the potential to improve antibiotic prescribing. This study investigates the impact of these rapid diagnostics on the timeliness of effective and optimal antibiotic prescribing in paediatric patients with bacteraemia.

Research

Invasive group A streptococcal (Strep A) infections occur when Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as beta-hemolytic group A Streptococcus, invades a normally sterile site in the body. This article provides guidelines for establishing surveillance for invasive Strep A infections. The primary objective of invasive Strep A surveillance is to monitor trends in rates of infection and determine the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with laboratory-confirmed invasive Strep A infection, the age- and sex-specific incidence in the population of a defined geographic area, trends in risk factors, and the mortality rates and rates of nonfatal sequelae caused by invasive Strep A infections.

Research

To establish the priorities of primary care providers to improve assessment and treatment of skin sores and sore throats among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at risk of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD).