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Community-wide versus school-based targeted deworming for soil-transmitted helminth control in school-aged children in Vietnam: the CoDe-STH cluster-randomised controlled trialSoil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection control programs typically consist of school-based preventive chemotherapy (PC) targeted to school-aged children. STH reservoirs in untreated community members contribute to ongoing transmission in children. The CoDe-STH (Community Deworming against STH) trial, conducted in Dak Lak province, Vietnam, between October 2019 and November 2020, aimed to determine whether community-wide mass drug administration (MDA) is more effective than school-based targeted PC in reducing STH prevalence and intensity in children.
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COVID-19 vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of health care workers in Perth, Western Australia: A qualitative studyHealth care workers (HCWs) faced an increased risk of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout commenced in February 2021 to priority groups, including HCWs. Given their increased risk, as well as influence on patients’ vaccine uptake, it was important that HCWs had a positive COVID-19 vaccination experience, as well as trusting the vaccine safety and efficacy data.
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Variants of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 14 from Papua New Guinea with the Potential to Be Mistyped and Escape Vaccine-Induced ProtectionStreptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is a human pathogen of global importance, classified into serotypes based on the type of capsular polysaccharide produced. Serotyping of pneumococci is essential for disease surveillance and vaccine impact measurement.
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Standardization of Epidemiological Surveillance of Acute Rheumatic FeverAcute rheumatic fever (ARF) is a multiorgan inflammatory disorder that results from the body's autoimmune response to pharyngitis or a skin infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A). Acute rheumatic fever mainly affects those in low- and middle-income nations, as well as in indigenous populations in wealthy nations, where initial Strep A infections may go undetected.
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Body distribution of impetigo and association with host and pathogen factorsImpetigo or skin sores are estimated to affect >162 million people worldwide. Detailed descriptions of the anatomical location of skin sores are lacking.
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Off-target effects of bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccination on immune responses to SARS-CoV-2: implications for protection against severe COVID-19Because of its beneficial off-target effects against non-mycobacterial infectious diseases, bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination might be an accessible early intervention to boost protection against novel pathogens. Multiple epidemiological studies and randomised controlled trials are investigating the protective effect of BCG against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
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Djaalinj Waakinj (listening talking): Rationale, cultural governance, methods, population characteristics–an urban Aboriginal birth cohort study of otitis mediaThe majority of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter referred to as “Aboriginal”) people live in urban centres. Otitis media (OM) occurs at a younger age, prevalence is higher and hearing loss and other serious complications are more common in Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal children. Despite this, data on the burden of OM and hearing loss in urban Aboriginal children are limited.
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OPTIMUM study protocol: an adaptive randomised controlled trial of a mixed whole-cell/acellular pertussis vaccine scheduleCombination vaccines containing whole-cell pertussis antigens were phased out from the Australian national immunisation programme between 1997 and 1999 and replaced by the less reactogenic acellular pertussis (aP) antigens. In a large case-control study of Australian children born during the transition period, those with allergist diagnosed IgE-mediated food allergy were less likely to have received whole-cell vaccine in early infancy than matched population controls (OR: 0.77 (95% CI, 0.62 to 0.95)). We hypothesise that a single dose of whole-cell vaccine in early infancy is protective against IgE-mediated food allergy.
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Pediatric Burn Survivors Have Long-Term Immune Dysfunction With Diminished Vaccine ResponseEpidemiological studies have demonstrated that survivors of acute burn trauma are at long-term increased risk of developing a range of morbidities. The mechanisms underlying this increased risk remain unknown. This study aimed to determine whether burn injury leads to sustained immune dysfunction that may underpin long-term morbidity. Plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from 36 pediatric burn survivors >3 years after a non-severe burn injury (<10% total body surface area) and from age/sex-matched non-injured controls.
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Estimation of the force of infection and infectious period of skin sores in remote Australian communities using interval-censored dataPrevalence of impetigo (skin sores) remains high in remote Australian Aboriginal communities, Fiji, and other areas of socio-economic disadvantage. Skin sore infections, driven primarily in these settings by Group A Streptococcus (GAS) contribute substantially to the disease burden in these areas. Despite this, estimates for the force of infection, infectious period and basic reproductive ratio-all necessary for the construction of dynamic transmission models-have not been obtained.