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Co-designed and in collaboration with community members, the impacts of this project will directly benefit families by building awareness, empowering decision-making, and improving confidence around the recognition and management of skin conditions for Aboriginal children.
Asha Jonathan Marianne Bowen Carapetis AM Mullane BA MBBS DCH FRACP PhD GAICD FAHMS OAM AM MBBS FRACP FAFPHM PhD FAHMS BSc (OT) Head, Healthy Skin
Healthy skin is important for maintaining overall health and wellbeing. Some skin infections, if untreated, can lead to serious downstream health complications such as heart disease, kidney disease, or sepsis.
The skin is home to an array of bacteria, fungi and viruses, which together make up the skin microbiome. We explore how the skin microbiome can contribute to healthy skin.
Dr Anita Asha Campbell Bowen MBBS, DCH, PG DipPID, FRACP, PhD BA MBBS DCH FRACP PhD GAICD FAHMS OAM Infectious Diseases Physician; Raine Clinician
Rheumatic heart disease, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries, results from acute rheumatic fever (ARF), for which no diagnostic test currently exists. The ARF Diagnosis Collaborative Network (ARC Network) was established to address this gap by recruiting a rigorously phenotyped, globally representative cohort of children and adolescents with ARF and controls to support biomarker discovery.
Intramuscular (IM) injection of benzathine benzylpenicillin G (BPG) forms the cornerstone of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) secondary prophylaxis. BPG is available as either a low-cost powdered formulation or a costlier pre-filled suspension. Most of the global RHD burden lies in low- and middle-income countries, which rely on the powdered formulation.
Group A Streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis is an important precursor infection to severe complications including rheumatic fever and invasive GAS. Rapid molecular point of care testing (POCT) for GAS infection has advantages over traditional microbiological culture, especially in settings with limited or absent laboratory infrastructure and where GAS complications predominate.
Although uncommon, invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) results in death in 5%-10% of cases in healthy children and adolescents. This study aimed to examine demographics, clinical presentation, treatment and outcomes of Australian children hospitalized with IMD during the introduction of the meningococcal vaccine program, overall and by serogroup/disease severity.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) is the most common cause of sepsis, contributing to paediatric intensive care unit admission in Australia and New Zealand. While deep venous thrombosis (DVT) has been reported in children with invasive S. aureus infections, the actual frequency and possible effects of thrombosis on disease severity and outcome in paediatric SAB remain unknown. Moreover, guidance regarding imaging for paediatric SAB management are poorly defined.