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Research
Invasive aspergillosis in adult patients in Australia and New Zealand: 2017–2020New and emerging risks for invasive aspergillosis (IA) bring the need for contemporary analyses of the epidemiology and outcomes of IA, in order to improve clinical practice.
Research
Skin-Microbiome Assembly in Preterm Infants during the First Three Weeks of Life and Impact of Topical Coconut Oil ApplicationThe structure and function of infant skin is not fully developed until 34 weeks of gestation, and this immaturity is associated with risk of late-onset sepsis (LOS). Topical coconut oil improves preterm-infant skin integrity and may reduce LOS. However, data on early-life skin-microbiome succession and potential effects of emollient skin care in preterm infants are scarce.
Research
Standardization of Epidemiological Surveillance of Group A Streptococcal ImpetigoImpetigo is a highly contagious bacterial infection of the superficial layer of skin. Impetigo is caused by group A Streptococcus (Strep A) and Staphylococcus aureus, alone or in combination, with the former predominating in many tropical climates. Strep A impetigo occurs mainly in early childhood, and the burden varies worldwide. It is an acute, self-limited disease, but many children experience frequent recurrences that make it a chronic illness in some endemic settings.
Research
Urinary tract infections in children: building a causal model-based decision support tool for diagnosis with domain knowledge and prospective dataDiagnosing urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children in the emergency department (ED) is challenging due to the variable clinical presentations and difficulties in obtaining a urine sample free from contamination.
Research
Antibiotic treatment duration for bloodstream infections in critically ill children - A survey of pediatric infectious diseases and critical care clinicians for clinical equipoiseTo describe antibiotic treatment durations that pediatric infectious diseases (ID) and critical care clinicians usually recommend for bloodstream infections in critically ill children.

People
Ingrid Amgarth-DuffDr Amgarth-Duff is an early career Post-doctoral Senior Research Offer in the Healthy Skin & ARF prevention team.
Research
Australian Group on Antimicrobial Research surveillance outcome programs - bloodstream infections and antimicrobial resistance patterns from patients less than 18 years of ageFrom 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021, thirty-eight institutions across Australia submitted data to the Australian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR) from patients aged < 18 years (AGAR-Kids). Over the two years, 1,679 isolates were reported from 1,611 patients. This AGAR-Kids report aims to describe the population of children and adolescents with bacteraemia reported to AGAR and the proportion of resistant isolates.
Research
Antimicrobial Resistance in Enterobacterales, Acinetobacter spp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates From Bloodstream Infections in Australian Children, 2013–2021Gram-negative bloodstream infections are associated with significant morbidity and mortality in children. Increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is reported globally, yet efforts to track pediatric AMR at a national level over time are lacking.

News & Events
Beating the bugs: a new resource helping to keep skin healthyA year after launching the first National Healthy Skin Guideline to address record rates of skin infections in Australia’s Indigenous communities, The Kids Research Institute Australia has released a new resource as part of the guideline.
Research
Culturally supported health promotion to See, Treat, Prevent (SToP) skin infections in Aboriginal children living in the Kimberley region of Western Australia: a qualitative analysisWhile there are many skin infections, reducing the burden of scabies and impetigo for remote living Aboriginal people, particularly children remains challenging. Aboriginal children living in remote communities have experienced the highest reported rate of impetigo in the world and are 15 times more likely to be admitted to hospital with a skin infection compared to non-Aboriginal children.