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Research
In vitro antibacterial activity of Western Australian honeys, and manuka honey, against bacteria implicated in impetigoImpetigo is a contagious skin disease caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. Without treatment, impetigo may be recurrent, develop into severe disease, or have serious, life-threatening sequelae. Standard treatment consists of topical or systemic antibiotic therapy (depending on severity), however, due to antibiotic resistance some therapies are increasingly ineffective.
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Australian Group on Antimicrobial Research surveillance outcome programs - bloodstream infections and antimicrobial resistance patterns from patients less than 18 years of ageFrom 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021, thirty-eight institutions across Australia submitted data to the Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) from patients aged < 18 years (AGAR-Kids). Over the two years, 1,679 isolates were reported from 1,611 patients. This AGAR-Kids report aims to describe the population of children and adolescents with bacteraemia reported to AGAR and the proportion of resistant isolates.
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Scabies and risk of skin sores in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: A self-controlled case series studyThe association between scabies and skin sores is highly significant and indicates a causal relationship
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Ascertaining infectious disease burden through primary care clinic attendance among young Aboriginal children living in four remote communities in Western AustraliaImproved public health measures targeting bacterial skin infections are needed to reduce this high burden of skin infections in Western Australia
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Burden of skin disease in two remote primary healthcare centres in northern and central AustraliaSkin infections are an under-appreciated and dominant reason for presentation to primary healthcare centres in these indigenous communities
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Are scabies and impetigo “normalised”? A cross-sectional comparative study of hospitalised children in northern Australia assessing clinical recognitionScabies and impetigo infections are under-recognised and hence under-treated by clinicians
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Continued challenge of rheumatic heart disease: The gap of understanding or the gap of implementation?We still do not have a RF vaccine, although the recent announcement that the Australian and New Zealand governments are jointly sponsoring a program to fast...

News & Events
$1 million funding boost to help Aboriginal kids with skin infectionsThanks to a $1 million funding grant, Dr Asha Bowen from The Kids Research Institute Australia is on track to change Aboriginal children's skin infection statistics.

In close partnership with Aboriginal Elders and community members in Western Australia's south-west, we created ‘Kaal Tackles Eczema’, a children’s book to help Aboriginal families manage eczema. Our research showed a high prevalence and need for culturally relevant resources. The book uses Noongar language and art to educate and reduce infections, and is available online and in schools.
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Comparing Skin and Serum Testing to Direct Challenge Outcomes in Children With beta-Lactam AllergiesThere is a scarcity of prospective studies investigating the relative roles of skin prick and intradermal testing, serum specific IgE, and extended oral challenges in diagnosing children with reported β-lactam allergies.