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Recurrent acute otitis media (AOM), frequently caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, is a major paediatric health problem.

Bacteria persist within biofilms on the middle ear mucosa of children with recurrent and chronic otitis media however the mechanisms by which these...

We conducted an open randomized controlled trial in Papua New Guinea to compare safety, immunogenicity and priming for memory of 7-valent PCV (PCV7) given in...

Video otoscopy plays an important role in improving access to ear health services. This study investigated the clinician-rated quality of video otoscopy recordings and still images, and compared their suitability for asynchronous diagnosis of middle-ear disease. Two hundred and eighty video otoscopy image-recording pairs were collected from 150 children (aged six months to 15 years) by an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, audiologists, and trained research assistants, and independently rated by an audiologist and ENT surgeon.

Combination vaccines containing whole-cell pertussis antigens were phased out from the Australian national immunisation programme between 1997 and 1999 and replaced by the less reactogenic acellular pertussis (aP) antigens. In a large case-control study of Australian children born during the transition period, those with allergist diagnosed IgE-mediated food allergy were less likely to have received whole-cell vaccine in early infancy than matched population controls (OR: 0.77 (95% CI, 0.62 to 0.95)). We hypothesise that a single dose of whole-cell vaccine in early infancy is protective against IgE-mediated food allergy.

To examine rates and predictors of 7-day readmission in infants hospitalised before 3 months of age with infectious and non-infectious conditions. A retrospective population-based data-linkage study of 121 854 infants from a 5-year metropolitan birth cohort (2008-2012). Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine associations between infant and maternal factors with 7-day readmission.

The majority of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter referred to as “Aboriginal”) people live in urban centres. Otitis media (OM) occurs at a younger age, prevalence is higher and hearing loss and other serious complications are more common in Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal children. Despite this, data on the burden of OM and hearing loss in urban Aboriginal children are limited.

Invasive pneumococcal disease remains a major cause of hospitalization and death in Papua New Guinean (PNG) children. We assessed mucosal IgA and IgG responses in PNG infants vaccinated with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) followed by a pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) booster.

The monoclonal antibody, palivizumab is licensed for use in high-risk infants to prevent severe illness caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The level of its use and compliance with current jurisdictional guidelines which were amended in 2010, is unknown.

Preterm infants are at a high risk of developing late-onset sepsis (LOS). Lactoferrin is one of the most abundant endogenous antimicrobial proteins expressed in breast milk, stools, and blood, and a candidate for preventive intervention. Large clinical trials have recently investigated whether enteral supplementation with bovine lactoferrin reduces LOS.