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The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration approved the use of nirsevimab, a long-acting monoclonal antibody for the prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), in November 2023. Western Australia (WA) implemented a combination of nirsevimab administration strategies designed to protect all infants starting in April 2024, before the epidemic season. We developed a dynamic transmission model to predict the impact of WA's RSV immunisation program on infant hospitalisations.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant cause of respiratory infections in young children. Since 2021, RSV has been a notifiable disease in Australia. However, current surveillance systems focus on hospitalised RSV, with limited surveillance at a community level through primary care clinics. This approach only captures RSV requiring hospitalisation. Less severe illnesses, while not captured, may have significant social and economic impacts including the associated cost of care and absenteeism. The aim of this study is to establish an understanding of the broader burden of RSV in young children in a community setting.
The first peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) for children was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2020. While clinical efficacy is established, evidence on cost-effectiveness-whether the benefits outweigh the costs and adverse effects-remains limited. A variant of OIT, known as probiotic and peanut OIT (PPOIT), has shown similar efficacy in trials.
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) prevents pneumococcal disease and pneumonia, but indirect effects are poorly understood in low-coverage, high-burden settings like Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG introduced 13-valent PCV (PCV13) in 2014. We aimed to assess direct and indirect effectiveness of PCV13 against vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among children with pneumonia or suspected meningitis in PNG
Although evidence supports clinicians to "safely do less" for febrile infants assessed as low risk of serious bacterial infection (SBI), early discharge may increase caregiver concern and reduce satisfaction with care. We captured the self-reported satisfaction and concerns for families enrolled in the study of fever, blood cultures and readiness for discharge in infants less than 3 months old (FeBRILe3), a prospective safety assessment of early discharge of low-risk febrile infants, to aid evaluation of this practice.
Protection of newborns from infection can be achieved through maternal or vaccine-induced antibodies, but the factors influencing vaccine protection (correlate of protection) and subsequent infant immunity remain insufficiently understood. Further investigation is essential to optimize early-life vaccination strategies.
To assess potential benefits and direct healthcare cost savings with expansion of an existing childhood influenza immunisation program, we developed a dynamic transmission model for the state of Western Australia, evaluating increasing coverage in children < 5 years and routinely immunising school-aged children.
The association between early-life respiratory syncytial virus infections and later respiratory morbidity is well established. However, there is limited evidence on factors that influence this risk. We examined sociodemographic and perinatal factors associated with later childhood respiratory morbidity requiring secondary care following exposure to a laboratory-confirmed RSV episode in the first 2 years.
Surgical intervention is an important treatment modality for advanced rheumatic heart disease (RHD). This study aimed to describe patient characteristics and outcomes from cardiac surgery for RHD in patients referred to the only tertiary paediatric hospital in Western Australia.
This phase 1 trial assessed the safety and immunogenicity of an investigational tetanus/diphtheria/acellular pertussis vaccine combined with CpG 1018 adjuvant 1500 μg (Tdap-1018 1500 μg) or 3000 μg (Tdap-1018 3000 μg) in adults and adolescents.