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Boosting the influenza vaccine schedule in children with cancer: a prospective open-label study

Current immunization guidelines recommend one dose of influenza vaccine for children aged ≥9 years and two doses for younger or vaccine-naïve children. However, children receiving chemotherapy have an attenuated immune response. We performed a prospective open-label study in children undergoing treatment for cancer at Perth Children's Hospital, Western Australia, to examine the safety and efficacy of a boosted influenza schedule.

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.

How immunity shapes the long-term dynamics of influenza H3N2

Since its emergence in 1968, influenza A H3N2 has caused yearly epidemics in temperate regions. While infection confers immunity against antigenically similar strains, new antigenically distinct strains that evade existing immunity regularly emerge ('antigenic drift'). Immunity at the individual level is complex, depending on an individual's lifetime infection history.

The relationship between administratively recorded ethnicity and outcomes for people admitted to Australian intensive care units with COVID-19

The relationship between ethnicity and mortality of patients critically ill with COVID-19 in Australia has not been described. Defining those communities at the highest risk of severe COVID-19 may assist with formulating effective public health policy and may improve the equitable delivery of health care in Australia.

Assessing the protective effect of influenza vaccine against laboratory confirmed influenza in hospitalised children aged 6-59 months

Influenza vaccine was offered to all children aged 6-59 months resident in Western Australia in 2008, and we wished to evaluate the effectiveness of this immunisation programme.

Detection of the rapid emergency of the H274 mutation associated with oseltamivir-resistance

In 2009 a new swine-origin influenza virus A/H1N1 (A/H1N1 09) emerged, causing the century's first pandemic.

Safety and Immunogencity of a Prototype Adjuvanted Inactivated Split-Virus Influenza A (H5N1) Vaccine in Infants and Children

Highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus (H5N1) is a leading candidate for the next influenza pandemic, and infants and children may play an important role...

The impact of Influenza infection during early life on immune development

This study will investigate the why disease is worse in infants and how early life viral infection impacts the developing immune system.

Long-term derangement of antigen presenting cell populations in the respiratory tract following Influenza A infection

This project investigates how different populations of cells within the respiratory tract immune system are altered during a viral infection.