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Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in massive global disruptions with considerable impact on the delivery of health services and national health programmes. Since the detection of the first COVID-19 case on 5th March 2020, the Royal Government of Bhutan implemented a number of containment measures including border closure and national lockdowns. Against the backdrop of this global COVID-19 pandemic response, there was a sudden surge of locally-transmitted malaria cases between June to August 2020.

Research

We have closely followed the international literature about severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) transmission dynamics in children (aged 0–18 years).2 Evidence‐informed discussion about school attendance in the context of COVID‐19 is a high priority and this complex subject requires weighted expert review of the literature to accurately inform policy. As paediatricians and infectious diseases specialists, we wish to highlight important considerations when interpreting the available data.

Research

The incidence of neonatal varicella has decreased dramatically since the introduction of the varicella vaccination. Although the varicella zoster virus is often associated with a mild infection, it may cause severe morbidity and mortality, particularly in the neonatal period and immunocompromised hosts. We report a case of neonatal varicella acquired from maternal zoster in a mother on biological immunosuppressive therapy.

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Respiratory failure, multiple organ failure, shortness of breath, recovery, and mortality have been identified as critically important core outcomes by more than 9300 patients, health professionals, and the public from 111 countries in the global coronavirus disease 2019 core outcome set initiative. The aim of this project was to establish the core outcome measures for these domains for trials in coronavirus disease 2019. Three online consensus workshops were convened to establish outcome measures for the four core domains of respiratory failure, multiple organ failure, shortness of breath, and recovery.

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To assess the safety of live attenuated herpes zoster vaccine live (ZVL) through cumulative analysis of near real-time, participant-based active surveillance from Australia's AusVaxSafety system. ZVL was funded in Australia for adults aged 70 years from November 2016, with a time-limited catch up programme for those up to 79 years. This cohort study monitored safety in the first two programme years through active surveillance at 246 sentinel surveillance immunisation sites.

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The spatial and temporal variability inherent in malaria transmission within countries implies that targeted interventions for malaria control in high-burden settings and subnational elimination are a practical necessity. Identifying the spatio-temporal incidence, risk, and trends at different administrative geographies within malaria-endemic countries and monitoring them in near real-time as change occurs is crucial for developing and introducing cost-effective, subnational control and elimination intervention strategies.

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Many governments and institutions mandated COVID-19 vaccines. In late 2021, we sought to ascertain the perspectives of staff and students from The University of Western Australia about the State or the University mandating COVID-19 vaccines.

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An estimated 14 million cases of Plasmodium vivax malaria were reported from Asia, Central and South America, and the Horn of Africa. The clinical burden of vivax malaria is largely driven by its ability to form dormant liver stages (hypnozoites) that can reactivate to cause recurrent episodes of malaria. Elimination of both the blood and liver stages of the parasites ("radical cure") is required to achieve a sustained clinical response and prevent ongoing transmission of the parasite.

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Considerable progress towards controlling malaria has been made in Papua New Guinea through the national malaria control programme's free distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets, improved diagnosis with rapid diagnostic tests and improved access to artemisinin combination therapy. Predictive prevalence maps can help to inform targeted interventions and monitor changes in malaria epidemiology over time as control efforts continue.

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This study describes trends in social inequities in first dose measles-mumps-rubella (MMR1) vaccination coverage in Western Australia (WA) and New South Wales (NSW).