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Key steps in our journey to a COVID-19 vaccine programProviding a safe and effective coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) vaccination program is required to mitigate against the current and future negative impacts on the health and wellbeing of all Australians from COVID‐19. An effective vaccination program is a key element required to facilitate economic recovery, safe movement throughout and beyond Australia and a return to the quality of life previously experienced.
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Enhanced Neutralizing Antibody Responses to Rhinovirus C and Age-Dependent Patterns of InfectionRhinovirus (RV) C can cause asymptomatic infection and respiratory illnesses ranging from the common cold to severe wheezing. The aim was to identify how age and other individual-level factors are associated with susceptibility to RV-C illnesses. Longitudinal data from the COAST (Childhood Origins of Asthma) birth cohort study were analyzed to determine relationships between age and RV-C infections. Neutralizing antibodies specific for RV-A and RV-C (three types each) were determined using a novel PCR-based assay.
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One vaccine for life: Lessons from immune ontogenyThere remains a general misconception that the immune status of the fetus and neonate is immature or insufficient. However, emerging research in immune ontogeny prompts reconsideration of this orthodoxy, reframing this period instead as one of unique opportunity. Vaccine responses (qualitative and quantitative) vary between individuals, and across demographic cohorts. Elements of baseline immune status and function predict vaccine response - some of these factors are well described, others remain a subject of ongoing research, especially with the rapidly expanding field of 'omics' research, enabled by development of highly granular immune profiling techniques and increasing computational capacity.
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The prevalence of tuberculosis, malaria and soil-transmitted helminth infection in minority indigenous people of Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysisInfectious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), malaria and soil-transmitted helminthiasis continue to impose a significant global health burden and socio-economic impact. Globally, minority indigenous people are disproportionately affected by poverty and are shown to experience a disparate burden of disease and poorer health outcomes than the comparative majority population.
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CASSETTE-clindamycin adjunctive therapy for severe Staphylococcus aureus treatment evaluation: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trialThis study will assess the effect of adjunctive clindamycin on patient-centred outcomes in severe, toxin-mediated S. aureus infections
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Retrospective Case-Control Study of 2017 G2P[4] Rotavirus Epidemic in Rural and Remote AustraliaA widespread G2P[4] rotavirus epidemic in rural and remote Australia provided an opportunity to evaluate the performance of Rotarix and RotaTeq rotavirus vaccines, ten years after their incorporation into Australia's National Immunisation Program.
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Factors associated with pneumococcal carriage and density in children and adults in Fiji, using four cross-sectional surveysThis study describes predictors of pneumococcal nasopharyngeal carriage and density in Fiji
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Evaluation of a phased pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction in Mongolia using enhanced pneumonia surveillance and community carriage surveysThe enhanced surveillance system in Mongolia will facilitate assessment of PCV13 impact on pneumonia, with radiological confirmed disease as the primary outcome
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Progress towards a coordinated, national paediatric antimicrobial resistance surveillance programmeThese data support that children are not just 'little adults' in the AMR era, and analyses by age group are important to detect differences in antibiotic susceptibility
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Subcutaneous administration of benzathine benzylpenicillin G has favourable pharmacokinetic characteristics for the prevention of rheumatic heart disease compared with intramuscular injectionBenzathine penicillin G has been used as monthly deep intramuscular (IM) injections since the 1950s for secondary prevention of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). Injection frequency and pain are major programmatic barriers for adherence, prompting calls for development of better long-acting penicillin preparations to prevent RHD.