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In 2024, the government of Western Australia introduced 'nirsevimab', a monoclonal antibody offering protection from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for eligible infants. This study explores why parents of infants who were eligible to receive nirsevimab opted to decline or delay the immunisation.
Asymptomatic carriage of Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) may contribute to transmission, yet its role remains poorly understood and evidence on optimal detection methods is limited. While self-collected throat swabs are used in infectious disease surveillance, their value for identifying asymptomatic Strep A carriage in adults is uncertain. This pilot prospective cohort study, conducted at a Perth medical research institute between August and October 2024, assessed feasibility and acceptability of self-collection, with sensitivity as a secondary objective.
We investigated the genetic and epigenetic regulation of the UBASH3A gene and its association with early-onset sepsis. Using matched whole blood DNA methylation, gene expression, genotypes, and immune cell counts from the EPIC-HIPC newborn cohort, we report that promoter methylation was negatively correlated with ontogenetic changes in UBASH3A gene expression and circulating CD3+ T-cell numbers.
Rhinoviruses (RV) are the most common respiratory viruses globally and a major cause of airway symptoms in children and individuals with asthma. Although more than 170 RV types exist across 3 species (RV-A, RV-B, RV-C), type-specific circulation patterns and age-related prevalence remain poorly defined.
Disease spreading models such as the ubiquitous SIS compartmental model and its numerous variants are widely used to understand and predict the behavior of a given epidemic or information diffusion process. A common approach to imbue more realism to the spreading process is to constrain simulations to a network structure, where connected nodes update their disease state based on pairwise interactions along the edges of their local neighborhood.
Nick Rishi S. Laurence Sung Gottardo Kotecha Cheung Chiu MBChB FRACP PhD MB ChB (Hons) MRCPCH FRACP PhD BPharm (Hons) MBA PhD MBBS FRACP FRCPA PhD
Global rates of invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS) disease surged from September 2022, exceeding pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, showing atypical seasonality and disproportionately affecting children. We previously described the epidemiology of iGAS among Australian children from mid-2018 to end 2022 using data from the Paediatric Active Enhanced Diseases network and here provide updated clinical epidemiology for 2023 and 2024 to help inform public health strategies.
Acute rheumatic fever is an autoimmune disorder resulting from Group A Streptococcus pharyngitis or impetigo in children and adolescents, which may evolve to rheumatic heart disease (RHD) with persistent cardiac valve damage. RHD causes substantial mortality and morbidity globally, predominantly among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, with an interplay of social determinants of health and genetic factors determining overall risk.
We compared the effect of a heterologous wP/aP/aP primary series (hereafter mixed wP/aP) versus a homologous aP/aP/aP primary schedule (hereafter aP-only) on antibody responses to co-administered vaccine antigens in infants and toddlers.
War and conflict severely disrupt public health systems, compromising infectious disease surveillance in many affected regions. Mpox, a re-emerging zoonotic disease, poses a growing global threat, especially in areas where traditional monitoring is inaccessible.The mpox virus has distinct clades with varying transmission and severity.