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News & Events
Large-scale study uncovers a single major genetic risk factor for fatal parasitic diseaseResearch has identified a critical genetic risk factor for a potentially fatal parasitic disease that affects up to 400 thousand people a year, mostly children.
News & Events
Infectious Disease & Vaccination Public SeminarHear the facts about vaccination and infectious disease from some of Australia's leading experts: Professor Jonathan Carapetis, Dr Peter Richmond
News & Events
Pneumonia rates improve in Aboriginal childrenNew research from The Kids for Child Health Research shows that the pneumococcal vaccine program has contributed to closing of the gap
News & Events
WANTED: 'Flu BustersHundreds of healthy volunteers are needed in Perth to test the effectiveness of a current 'flu vaccine.
News & Events
Bird flu vaccine produces promising resultsAn Australian-developed vaccine that's been trialed in Perth has been found to produce a strong immune response against the H5N1 bird flu virus.
News & Events
Meningitis study aims for fewer needlesPerth researchers are investigating a new combined vaccine to protect against three causes of potentially deadly bacterial meningitis.
Research
DETECT Schools Study Protocol: A Prospective Observational Cohort Surveillance Study Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 in Western Australian SchoolsAmidst the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the transmission dynamics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is key to providing peace of mind for the community and informing policy-making decisions. While available data suggest that school-aged children are not significant spreaders of SARS-CoV-2, the possibility of transmission in schools remains an ongoing concern, especially among an aging teaching workforce. Even in low-prevalence settings, communities must balance the potential risk of transmission with the need for students' ongoing education.
Research
Formative evaluation of a community-based approach to reduce the incidence of Strep A infections and acute rheumatic feverWe 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.
Research
Using Hawkes Processes to model imported and local malaria cases in near-elimination settingsDeveloping new methods for modelling infectious diseases outbreaks is important for monitoring transmission and developing policy. In this paper we propose using semi-mechanistic Hawkes Processes for modelling malaria transmission in near-elimination settings. Hawkes Processes are well founded mathematical methods that enable us to combine the benefits of both statistical and mechanistic models to recreate and forecast disease transmission beyond just malaria outbreak scenarios.
Research
Timeliness and factors associated with rotavirus vaccine uptake among Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children: A record linkage cohort studyAboriginal children are at greater risk of rotavirus disease than non-Aboriginal children and delayed vaccine receipt is substantially higher