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Asha Rosemary Jeffrey Bowen Wyber Cannon BA MBBS DCH FRACP PhD GAICD FAHMS OAM MBChB MPH FRACGP PhD BSc(Hons) BBus PhD Head, Healthy Skin and ARF
The social determinants of health such as access to income, education, housing and healthcare, strongly shape the occurrence of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease at the household, community and national levels.
Recent research has documented a wide range of health, economic, and social benefits conferred by vaccination, beyond the direct reductions in morbidity, mortality, and future healthcare costs traditionally captured in economic evaluations.
Secondary prevention of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) involves continuous antimicrobial prophylaxis among affected individuals and is recognised as a cornerstone of public health programmes that address these conditions. However, several important scientific issues around the secondary prevention paradigm remain unresolved.
The World Health Organization published the preferred product characteristics for a Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) vaccine in 2018. Based on these parameters for the age of vaccination, vaccine efficacy, duration of protection from vaccine-derived immunity, and vaccination coverage, we developed a static cohort model to estimate the projected health impact of Strep A vaccination at the global, regional, and national levels and by country-income category.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited red blood cell disease that results in a multitude of medical complications, including an increased risk of invasive disease caused by encapsulated bacteria, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae. Pneumococcal vaccines have contributed to a significant reduction in pneumococcal disease (PD) in children and adults, including those with SCD. This phase 3 study evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of V114, a 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, in children with SCD.
Contemporary data for the global burden of sore throat and group A Streptococcus (Strep A) pharyngitis are required to understand the frequency of disease and develop value propositions for Strep A vaccines.
The incidence of invasive GAS disease in WA increased between 2000 and 2018, particularly among Indigenous Australians. Mandatory notification of invasive GAS disease would therefore be appropriate. The social determinants of differences in incidence should be addressed, and other relevant host, pathogen, and health system factors investigated.
We explore the acceptability of a novel, outreached-based approach to improve primary and primordial prevention of Strep A skin sores, sore throats and acute rheumatic fever in remote Aboriginal communities. A comprehensive prevention program delivered by trained Aboriginal Community Workers was evaluated using approximately fortnightly household surveys about health and housing and clinical records.
Severe, invasive Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep A) infections result in greater than 500,000 deaths annually. First line treatment for such infections is benzylpenicillin, often with the addition of clindamycin, but treatment failure can occur with this regimen. This failure has been partially attributed to the inoculum effect, which presents as reduced antibiotic susceptibility during high bacterial density and plateau-phase growth.