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Clinical predictors of hypoxic pneumonia in children from the Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea: secondary analysis of two prospective observational studiesPneumonia is the leading cause of death in young children globally and is prevalent in the Papua New Guinea highlands. We investigated clinical predictors of hypoxic pneumonia to inform local treatment guidelines in this resource-limited setting.


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Associate Professor Lea-Ann KirkhamCo-Head, Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group; Microbiology Lead, Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines & Infectious Diseases

The Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group (BRIDG) has a major focus ear and lung disease involving Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae.
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The Platform trial In COVID-19 vaccine priming and BOOsting (PICOBOO) booster vaccination substudy protocolCoronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in Australia commenced in February 2021. The first vaccines recommended for use were AZD1222 and BNT162b2, both delivered as a two-dose primary schedule. In the absence of sustained immunity following immunisation, recommendations for booster vaccination have followed. It is likely that periodic boosting will be necessary for at least some Australians, but it is unknown what the optimal booster vaccines and schedules are or for whom vaccination should be recommended.
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The Platform Trial In COVID-19 priming and BOOsting : The immunogenicity, reactogenicity, and safety of licensed COVID-19 vaccinations administered as a second booster in BNT162b2PICOBOO is a randomised, adaptive trial evaluating the immunogenicity, reactogenicity, and safety of COVID-19 booster strategies. Here, we present data for second boosters among individuals aged 18-<50 and 50-<70 years old primed with BNT162b2 until Day (D) 84.
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Treatment with inhaled aerosolised ethanol reduces viral load and potentiates macrophage responses in an established influenza mouse modelTreatment options for viral lung infections are currently limited. We aimed to explore the safety and efficacy of inhaled ethanol in an influenza-infection mouse model.
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Evaluation of a bacterial therapy for prevention of respiratory infection including influenza and otitis mediaDeborah Lea-Ann Peter Ruth Strickland Kirkham Richmond Thornton PhD PhD MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP PhD Program Head, Immunobiology and Immunotherapeutic
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Histo-blood group antigen profile of Australian Aboriginal children and seropositivity following oral rotavirus vaccinationHisto-blood group antigens (HBGAs) may influence immune responses to rotavirus vaccination.
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among children with pneumonia using a causal Bayesian networkPneumonia remains a leading cause of hospitalization and death among young children worldwide, and the diagnostic challenge of differentiating bacterial from non-bacterial pneumonia is the main driver of antibiotic use for treating pneumonia in children. Causal Bayesian networks (BNs) serve as powerful tools for this problem as they provide clear maps of probabilistic relationships between variables and produce results in an explainable way by incorporating both domain expert knowledge and numerical data.