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Collecting behavioural data across countries during pandemics: Development of the COVID-19 Risk Assessment Tool

Tools that can be used to collect behavioural data during pandemics are needed to inform policy and practice. The objective of this project was to develop the Your COVID-19 Risk tool in response to the global spread of COVID-19, aiming to promote health behaviour change. We developed an online resource based on key behavioural evidence-based risk factors related to contracting and spreading COVID-19. This tool allows for assessing risk and provides instant support to protect individuals from infection.

Management and outcomes of children hospitalised with COVID-19 including incidental and nosocomial infections in Australia 2020–2023: A national surveillance study

Management and outcomes of children hospitalised with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection may differ throughout the pandemic or with admission type (clinical COVID-19, incidental COVID-19 or nosocomial infection).

COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake, Sources of Information and Side Effects Reported by Pregnant Women in Western Australia: Cross-Sectional Cohort Survey

Pregnant women are a priority group for COVID-19 vaccination due to their vulnerability as a high-risk cohort. However, the currentCOVID-19 vaccine uptake rate for COVID-19 vaccination among pregnant women in Western Australia remains largely unknown.

What goes up must come down: dynamics of type 1 interferon signaling across the lifespan

Type 1 interferons (T1IFNs) are typically expressed in low concentrations under homeostatic conditions, but upon pathogenic insult or perturbation of the pathway, these critical immune signaling molecules can become either protectors from or drivers of pathology. While essential for initiating antiviral defense and modulating inflammation, dysregulation of T1IFN signaling can contribute to immunopathology, making it and its associated pathways prime targets for immune evasion and disruption by pathogens. 

Inferring temporal trends of multiple pathogens, variants, subtypes or serotypes from routine surveillance data

Estimating the temporal trends in infectious disease activity is crucial for monitoring disease spread and the impact of interventions. Surveillance indicators routinely collected to monitor these trends are often a composite of multiple pathogens. For example, "influenza-like illness"-routinely monitored as a proxy for influenza infections-is a symptom definition that could be caused by a wide range of pathogens, including multiple subtypes of influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV.

Unfinished business and self-blaming emotions among those bereaved by a COVID-19 death

In view of the mounting death toll of COVID-19 worldwide and the complicating circumstances that commonly accompany such losses, we studied the grief experiences of 209 adult mourners who lost a loved one to coronavirus with a focus on self-blaming emotions and unresolved issues with the deceased.

Flexible societies excelled in saving lives in the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

Previous studies have shown that national cultural traits, such as collectivism–individualism and tightness–looseness, are associated with COVID-19 infection and mortality rates.

Efficacy of Dry Heat Treatment against Clostridioides difficile Spores and Mycobacterium tuberculosis on Filtering Facepiece Respirators

The COVID-19 pandemic has required novel solutions, including heat disinfection of personal protective equipment (PPE) for potential reuse to ensure availability for healthcare and other frontline workers.

Grief and functional impairment following COVID-19 loss in a treatment-seeking sample: the mediating role of meaning

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented levels of grief and psychological distress in community samples. We examined unique pandemic grief risk factors, dysfunctional grief, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, general psychiatric distress, disrupted meaning, and functional impairment in a treatment-seeking sample of people bereaved from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom.

Validation of a rapid, saliva-based, and ultra-sensitive SARS-CoV-2 screening system for pandemic-scale infection surveillance

Without any realistic prospect of comprehensive global vaccine coverage and lasting immunity, control of pandemics such as COVID-19 will require implementation of large-scale, rapid identification and isolation of infectious individuals to limit further transmission. Here, we describe an automated, high-throughput integrated screening platform, incorporating saliva-based loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technology, that is designed for population-scale sensitive detection of infectious carriers of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.