Seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) is routinely recommended during pregnancy to protect both mothers and infants from complications following influenza infection. While previous studies have evaluated the risk of major structural birth defects in infants associated with prenatal administration of monovalent pandemic IIV, fewer studies have evaluated the risk associated with prenatal seasonal IIV. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• November 2022

Respiratory viruses are increasingly detected in children with community-acquired pneumonia but prevalence estimates vary substantially. We aimed to systematically review and pool estimates for 22 viruses commonly associated with community-acquired pneumonia. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• August 2022

Group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis has traditionally been considered the sole precursor of acute rheumatic fever (ARF). Evidence from Australia, however, suggests that GAS skin infections may contribute to the pathogenesis of ARF. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2020
• November 2020

Households are known to be high-risk locations for the transmission of communicable diseases. Numerous modelling studies have demonstrated the important role of households in sustaining both communicable diseases outbreaks and endemic transmission, and as the focus for control efforts. However, these studies typically assume that households are associated with a single dwelling and have static membership. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2020
• November 2020

Adult pertussis vaccination is increasingly recommended to control pertussis in the community. However, there is little data on the duration and kinetics of immunity to pertussis boosters in adults. We compared IgG responses to vaccination with a tetanus, low-dose diphtheria, low-dose acellular pertussis (Tdap) booster at 1 week, 1 month and 1 year post-vaccination in whole-cell (wP)-primed Australian paediatric healthcare workers who had received an adult Tdap booster 5-12 years previously, to those who received their first Tdap booster. Tdap vaccination was well tolerated in both groups. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• March 2021

Adult pertussis vaccination is increasingly recommended to control pertussis in the community. However, there is little data on the duration and kinetics of immunity to pertussis boosters in adults. We compared IgG responses to vaccination with a tetanus, low-dose diphtheria, low-dose acellular pertussis (Tdap) booster at 1 week, 1 month and 1 year post-vaccination in whole-cell (wP)-primed Australian paediatric healthcare workers who had received an adult Tdap booster 5-12 years previously, to those who received their first Tdap booster. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• February 2021

The role Staphylococcus aureus antimicrobial resistance genes and toxins play in disease severity, management and outcome in childhood is an emerging field requiring further exploration. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2022
• March 2022

Scedosporium spp. are the second most prevalent filamentous fungi after Aspergillus spp. recovered from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients in various regions of the world. Although invasive infection is uncommon prior to lung transplantation, fungal colonization may be a risk factor for invasive disease with attendant high mortality post-transplantation. Abundant in the environment, Scedosporium aurantiacum has emerged as an important fungal pathogen in a range of clinical settings. ...

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

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. ...

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

Papua New Guinea (PNG) introduced the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in 2014, with administration at 1, 2, and 3 months of age. PCV13 has reduced or eliminated carriage of vaccine types in populations with low pneumococcal carriage prevalence, carriage density and serotype diversity. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• August 2021

Parainfluenza viruses are significant contributors to childhood respiratory illness worldwide, although detailed epidemiological studies are lacking. Few recent Australian studies have investigated serotype-specific PIV epidemiology, and there is a paucity of southern hemisphere PIV reports. We report age-stratified PIV hospitalisation rates and a mathematical model of PIV seasonality and dynamics in Western Australia (WA). ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2021
• January 2021

Recent vaccine mandates in Australia, as in other high income settings, have sought to change the behavior of parents, including those who would otherwise access nonmedical exemptions. Since 2014, Australian state governments have introduced and progressively tightened policies restricting the access of unvaccinated children to early education and child care. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2020
• December 2020