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National guideline to tackle record rates of skin infectionResearchers have developed the first National Healthy Skin Guideline to address record rates of skin infections in Australia’s Indigenous communities.
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Clinic attendances during the first 12 months of life for Aboriginal children in five remote communities of northern AustraliaThe median number of presentations per child in the first year of life was 21 with multiple reasons for presentation.
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Swimming pools in remote Aboriginal communitiesProviding remote communities with access to chlorinated swimming pools has been considered as a possible strategy for reducing ear and skin infection rates...
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Scabies and impetigo in Timor-Leste: A school screening study in two districtsScabies and impetigo are common in Timor-Leste, with very high prevalence of scabies in the rural district of Ermera
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An update on the burden of group A streptococcal diseases in Australia and vaccine developmentAsha Jeffrey Bowen Cannon BA MBBS DCH FRACP PhD GAICD FAHMS OAM BSc(Hons) BBus PhD Head, Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Health Economist
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Molecular diagnosis of scabies using a novel probe-based polymerase chain reaction assay targeting high-copy number repetitive sequences in the sarcoptes scabiei genomeThe suboptimal sensitivity and specificity of available diagnostic methods for scabies hampers clinical management, trials of new therapies and epidemiologic studies. Additionally, parasitologic diagnosis by microscopic examination of skin scrapings requires sample collection with a sharp scalpel blade, causing discomfort to patients and difficulty in children. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic assays, combined with non-invasive sampling methods, represent an attractive approach.
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Estimation of the force of infection and infectious period of skin sores in remote Australian communities using interval-censored dataPrevalence of impetigo (skin sores) remains high in remote Australian Aboriginal communities, Fiji, and other areas of socio-economic disadvantage. Skin sore infections, driven primarily in these settings by Group A Streptococcus (GAS) contribute substantially to the disease burden in these areas. Despite this, estimates for the force of infection, infectious period and basic reproductive ratio-all necessary for the construction of dynamic transmission models-have not been obtained.
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Hospital admissions for skin infections among Western Australian children and adolescents from 1996 to 2012Skin infections are a significant cause of severe disease, requiring hospitalization in Western Australian children, particularly with Aboriginal children
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Culturally supported health promotion to See, Treat, Prevent (SToP) skin infections in Aboriginal children living in the Kimberley region of Western Australia: a qualitative analysisWhile there are many skin infections, reducing the burden of scabies and impetigo for remote living Aboriginal people, particularly children remains challenging. Aboriginal children living in remote communities have experienced the highest reported rate of impetigo in the world and are 15 times more likely to be admitted to hospital with a skin infection compared to non-Aboriginal children.
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Berrembi Jarragboo-Boorroo Wajawoorroo Men'Gawoom Gijam (Gija Healthy Skin Story): Two-Way Learning for Healthy SkinRemote-living Aboriginal children in Australia contend with higher rates of skin infections than non-Indigenous children. This work was embedded within a stepped-wedge, cluster randomised controlled trial aiming to halve the rate of skin infections in remote Kimberley communities. It outlines and reflects upon the co-development of a health promotion resource in partnership with the East Kimberley community of Warmun, whilst understanding community perceptions of its impact.