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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global healthcare emergency, directly causing 1.3 million deaths per year and predicted to increase dramatically over the coming decades. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning antibiotic resistance is central to approaches for AMR surveillance and diagnosis in a clinical laboratory.
Studies of traditional Indigenous compared to 'Western' gut microbiomes are underrepresented, and lacking in young children, limiting knowledge of early-life microbiomes in different cultural contexts. Here we analyze the gut metagenomes of 50 Indigenous Australian infants (median age <one year) living remotely with variable access to Western foods, compared to age- and sex-matched non-Indigenous infants living in urban Australia.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality and are among the foremost causes of disability globally. CVD burden has continued to increase in most countries since 1990, with trends driven by changing exposures to harmful risk factors, population growth, and population aging.
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.
The antirelapse efficacy of primaquine is related to the total dose administered, whereas the risks of haemolysis and gastrointestinal intolerance are associated with the daily dose administered. National Malaria Control Programmes require local information on efficacy, tolerability and safety to optimize antimalarial treatment policies for Plasmodium vivax malaria control and elimination efforts.
Gram-negative bacterial infections remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children and neonates globally, compounded by the rise of antimicrobial resistance. Barriers to paediatric antibiotic licencing lead to reduced availability of potentially effective agents for treatment. For children and neonates in the Oceania region, specific challenges remain including a paucity of surveillance data on local rates of antimicrobial resistance, and lack of availability of newer, more costly agents.
Coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in Australia commenced in February 2021. The first vaccines recommended for use were AZD1222 and BNT162b2, both delivered as a two-dose primary schedule. In the absence of sustained immunity following immunisation, recommendations for booster vaccination have followed. It is likely that periodic boosting will be necessary for at least some Australians, but it is unknown what the optimal booster vaccines and schedules are or for whom vaccination should be recommended.
Tamara Chris Valerie Veselinovic Brennan-Jones Swift BSc(Hons) MClinAud PhD PhD Clinical Research Fellow Head, Ear and Hearing Health Aboriginal
International consensus definitions for invasive aspergillosis (IA) in research are rigorous, yet clinically significant cases are often excluded from clinical studies for not meeting proven/probable IA case definitions. To better understand reasons for the failure to meet criteria for proven/probable infection, we herein review 47 such cases for their clinical and microbiological characteristics and outcomes.
Although the incidence of malaria is increased in women in endemic areas after delivery compared to non-pregnant women, no studies have assessed the benefit of presumptive antimalarial treatment given postpartum.