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Hospital admissions for skin infections among Western Australian children and adolescents from 1996 to 2012

Skin infections are a significant cause of severe disease, requiring hospitalization in Western Australian children, particularly with Aboriginal children

Advances in Vaccines to Prevent Viral Respiratory Illnesses in Children

Childhood vaccination has played a critical role in the reduction of morbidity and mortality from communicable diseases, including specific respiratory pathogens

Who is at risk of a respiratory syncytial virus hospitalisation? A linked, population-based birth cohort analysis in children aged less than 5 years

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of acute lower respiratory infections globally in children under five years. With the development of RSV prevention strategies, understanding risk factors and relation to age and population is useful for deciding the type of program implemented.

Predicting regional and temporal incidence of RSV and influenza hospitalizations in a birth cohort of young Australian children

Western Australia experiences multiple climatic zones, influencing the epidemiology of respiratory viruses. We aimed to estimate the true incidence of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza hospitalizations across these different climatic regions using predictive modelling.

Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance surveillance outcome programs - bloodstream infections and antimicrobial resistance patterns in Australian children and adolescents 2022 - 2023

Between January 2022 and December 2023, there were 1,827 bloodstream infection (BSI) isolates in 1,745 children and adolescents reported to the Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) surveillance outcome programs, with 40% of episodes in children aged < 12 months.

Nudging towards COVID-19 and influenza vaccination in children with medically at-risk conditions

Non-coercive 'nudge' interventions have shown the potential to promote health behaviours. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of nudge interventions on COVID-19/influenza vaccine uptake among children with medically at-risk conditions.

Socio-economic inequality underpins inequity in influenza vaccination uptake between public and private secondary schools: an Australian population-based study

Socio-economic inequality and vaccination inequity have long been critical issues. However, no studies have explored the gap in influenza vaccination uptake between public and private schools. Importantly, the extent to which socio-economic inequality translates into vaccination uptake inequity has not been quantified.

Evaluating the effectiveness of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and clinical and demographic characteristics on pneumococcal carriage density in young children

High nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage density is associated with severe pneumonia; however, little is known about factors that affect pneumococcal carriage density including pneumococcal vaccination. We describe pneumococcal density by clinical and demographic factors, and effect of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) on density in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) and Mongolia, 3–6 years following national PCV13 introduction.

Associate Professor Lea-Ann Kirkham

Co-Head, Bacterial Respiratory Infectious Disease Group; Microbiology Lead, Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines & Infectious Diseases

Clinical predictors of hypoxic pneumonia in children from the Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea: secondary analysis of two prospective observational studies

Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in young children globally and is prevalent in the Papua New Guinea highlands. We investigated clinical predictors of hypoxic pneumonia to inform local treatment guidelines in this resource-limited setting.