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Asha Jeffrey Bowen Cannon BA MBBS DCH FRACP PhD GAICD FAHMS OAM BSc(Hons) BBus PhD Head, Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Health Economist
The incidence of invasive GAS disease in WA increased between 2000 and 2018, particularly among Indigenous Australians. Mandatory notification of invasive GAS disease would therefore be appropriate. The social determinants of differences in incidence should be addressed, and other relevant host, pathogen, and health system factors investigated.
Indigenous children and young peoples live with an inequitable burden of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. In this Review, we focus on the epidemiological burden and lived experience of these conditions for Indigenous young peoples in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. We outline the direct and indirect drivers of rheumatic heart disease risk and their mitigation.
Scabies, impetigo, and other skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are highly prevalent in many tropical, low-middle income settings, but information regarding their burden of disease is scarce. We conducted surveillance of presentations of scabies and SSTIs, including impetigo, abscesses, cellulitis, and se≈vere SSTI, to primary health facilities in Fiji.
Head lice is an ectoparasitic skin infection commonly seen in primary school-aged children. In remote Australia, where rates of other skin infections and downstream sequelae are endemic, the rate of head lice infestation is unknown.
Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) causes a wide spectrum of diseases, ranging from pharyngitis and impetigo to severe invasive infections and immune-mediated conditions such as acute rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease and acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Contemporary data on the global burden of Strep A diseases are lacking.
This scoping review explores existing clinical guidelines on administration of benzathine benzylpenicillin (Bicillin L-A, Pfizer Australia) in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The objective is to understand existing delivery guidance to address variation in care and cultural safety considerations, to support messaging during periods of stockout and to inform planning for new administration techniques.
Due to the ongoing impact of colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live with a greater burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than non-Indigenous Australians. Shared decision-making (SDM) is recognised as an essential component of person-centred care. However, there has been a lack of tools to support clinician communication and SDM to address CVD prevention in this important 'at-risk' population.
This study provides new knowledge on ARF characteristics and management and highlights international variation in diagnostic and management practice.
Language is significant for communicating knowledge across cultures and generations and has the power to attribute meanings and alter our worldviews.