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Christopher Blyth MBBS (Hons) DCH FRACP FRCPA PhD Centre Head, Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases; Co-Head, Infectious Diseases

Developing a prediction model to estimate the true burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in hospitalised children in Western Australia

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a leading cause of childhood morbidity, however there is no systematic testing in children hospitalised with respiratory symptoms. Therefore, current RSV incidence likely underestimates the true burden.

Re-examining Hepatitis B Postexposure Prophylaxis Following Pediatric Community-acquired Needle-stick Injury in an Era of a National Immunization Registry

Long-term hepatitis B immunity has been demonstrated following the completion of the primary vaccination series in childhood. Some guidelines recommend a hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs) directed approach following community-acquired needle-stick injury (CANSI) to inform hepatitis B postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) management.

Multilocus Sequence Typing Reveals Extensive Genetic Diversity of the Emerging Fungal Pathogen Scedosporium aurantiacum

Scedosporium spp. are the second most prevalent filamentous fungi after Aspergillus spp. recovered from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients in various regions of the world. Although invasive infection is uncommon prior to lung transplantation, fungal colonization may be a risk factor for invasive disease with attendant high mortality post-transplantation. Abundant in the environment, Scedosporium aurantiacum has emerged as an important fungal pathogen in a range of clinical settings.

Examining the entire delayed respiratory syncytial virus season in Western Australia

An interseasonal resurgence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was observed in Western Australia at the end of 2020. Our previous report describing this resurgence compared the 2019 and 2020 calendar years, capturing only part of the 2020/21 season.

Altered Behavior in Encephalitis: Insights From the Australian Childhood Encephalitis Study, 2013-2018

Altered mental status is a major criterion for a diagnosis of encephalitis to be made with alteration in behavior, a key manifestation of altered mental status. We reviewed all evaluated cases identified by the Australian Childhood Encephalitis study between May 2013 and June 2018.

Calling Future Grandparents-Further Efforts Required to Increase Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Use in Adolescence

Christopher Blyth MBBS (Hons) DCH FRACP FRCPA PhD Centre Head, Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases; Co-Head, Infectious Diseases

Does a major change to a COVID-19 vaccine program alter vaccine intention? A qualitative investigation

On 8th April 2021, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) made the Pfizer-BioNtech (Comirnaty) vaccine the “preferred” vaccine for adults in Australia aged < 50 years due to a risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) following AstraZeneca vaccination. We sought to understand whether this impacted COVID-19 vaccine intentions.

Risk factors and disease severity in Australian infants aged under 6 months hospitalised with influenza 2011–2019

Infants aged <6 months are vulnerable to severe influenza disease and no vaccine is approved for use in this age group. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, risk factors associated with severe outcomes and management of influenza in Australian infants aged <6 months.

Consensus guidelines for antifungal stewardship, surveillance and infection prevention, 2021

Invasive fungal diseases (IFD) are serious infections associated with high mortality, particularly in immunocompromised patients. The prescribing of antifungal agents to prevent and treat IFD is associated with substantial economic burden on the health system, high rates of adverse drug reactions, significant drug-drug interactions and the emergence of antifungal resistance.