Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance continues globally as part of the World Health Organization's goal to eradicate poliomyelitis. The Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit, Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance network, and National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory collaborate in AFP surveillance in Australia, capturing and reviewing cases of AFP for all aetiologies in order to exclude poliovirus. We aimed to describe the AFP epidemiology in childhood over an 11 year period. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• January 2023

The recent epidemics of pertussis (whooping cough) in parts of the USA and Australia have led to the largest numbers of annual cases reported in over half a... ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2014
• August 2014

Children with cochlear implants are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease, with national and international guidelines recommending additional pneumococcal vaccines for these children. This study aimed to examine the pneumococcal immunization status and rate of invasive pneumococcal disease in children with cochlear implants at a tertiary paediatric hospital over a 12-year period. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• June 2022

Maternal, umbilical cord, neonatal inflammatory, hematologic markers, histologic chorioamnionitis... ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2011
• January 2011

Health care workers (HCWs) are at an increased risk of catching and spreading Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) compared with the general community, putting health systems at risk. Several jurisdictions globally have mandated or are looking to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for this cohort, but little is known about the acceptability of this measure, especially in different contexts, and there is little qualitative data to explore nuance, depth, and the reasons behind HCWs’ opinions. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• September 2022

Pneumonia remains a leading cause of hospitalization and death among young children worldwide, and the diagnostic challenge of differentiating bacterial from non-bacterial pneumonia is the main driver of antibiotic use for treating pneumonia in children. Causal Bayesian networks (BNs) serve as powerful tools for this problem as they provide clear maps of probabilistic relationships between variables and produce results in an explainable way by incorporating both domain expert knowledge and numerical data. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• March 2023

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a key contributor to childhood morbidity and mortality in Papua New Guinea (PNG). For the first time, whole genome sequencing of 174 isolates has enabled detailed characterisation of diverse S. pneumoniae causing invasive disease in young children in PNG, 1989-2014. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• July 2022

Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease caused by infection of subcutaneous tissue with Mycobacterium ulcerans. BU is commonly reported across rural regions of Central and West Africa but has been increasing dramatically in temperate southeast Australia around the major metropolitan city of Melbourne, with most disease transmission occurring in the summer months. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• April 2023

Infants aged <6 months are vulnerable to severe influenza disease and no vaccine is approved for use in this age group. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, risk factors associated with severe outcomes and management of influenza in Australian infants aged <6 months. ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• December 2021

This Clinical Puzzle article describes our current knowledge of chronic otitis media and the existing research models for this condition ...

• Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2017
• November 2017