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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.
Obesity was a risk factor for severe COVID-19 in children during early outbreaks of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and the Delta variant. However, the relationship between obesity and COVID-19 severity during the Omicron wave remains unclear.
Antimicrobial resistance poses a significant threat to children's health, with up to 20% of 1.27 million deaths attributable to bacterial AMR annually, occurring in children <5 years. The WHO 2024 Bacterial Priority Pathogens List identifies methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) as critical pathogens. This review examines the epidemiology, treatment recommendations, dosing strategies, efficacy, and safety data for antibiotics targeting MRSA and VRE infections in children in Oceania.
In 2024, the government of Western Australia introduced 'nirsevimab', a monoclonal antibody offering protection from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for eligible infants. This study explores why parents of infants who were eligible to receive nirsevimab opted to decline or delay the immunisation.
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.
Western Australia (WA) has experienced a resurgence of congenital syphilis. Appropriate microbiology testing of the neonate is recommended to confirm infection, including syphilis immunoglobulin M (IgM), rapid plasma reagin (RPR) paired with a maternal sample, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on placenta and nasal swabs.
Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) are a major contributor to the global infectious disease burden and a common cause of hospitalisation for children under 2 years. We compared clinical severity in children hospitalised with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and influenza virus (IFV).
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory infection with a higher burden in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants and children. We conducted a pilot qualitative study identifying disease knowledge and willingness to immunise following the changing immunisation landscape for infant RSV in 2024.
Nick Rishi S. Laurence Sung Gottardo Kotecha Cheung Chiu MBChB FRACP PhD MB ChB (Hons) MRCPCH FRACP PhD BPharm (Hons) MBA PhD MBBS FRACP FRCPA PhD
The burden of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection often falls disproportionately on migrant populations within high-income countries. Differences in health literacy, language, comorbidities, and HCV genotype may influence HCV natural history.