Prevalence of skin sores and scabies in remote Australian Aboriginal communities remains unacceptably high, with Group A Streptococcus (GAS) the dominant pathogen. We aim to better understand the drivers of GAS transmission using mathematical models. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2018
• May 2018

The young age of the first infection with skin sores and scabies reflects the high disease burden in these communities ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2018
• July 2018

Impetigo, a bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes and S. aureus of the superficial dermis affects up to 162 million children at any one time. Three out of every five school-children in Samoa have active or recently healed impetigo, far higher than the global median impetigo prevalence surpassing previous estimates for the Oceania region. ...

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

Streptococcus pyogenes, or group A Streptococcus (GAS), infections contribute to a high burden of disease in Aboriginal Australians, causing skin infections and immune sequelae such as rheumatic heart disease. Controlling skin infections in these populations has proven difficult, with transmission dynamics being poorly understood. We aimed to identify the relative contributions of impetigo and asymptomatic throat carriage to GAS transmission. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• July 2023

We aimed to assess the direct protective effect of 13 valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (13vPCV) against invasive pneumococcal pneumonia (IPP; including pneumonia and empyema) in children using a nation-wide case-control study across 11 paediatric tertiary hospitals in Australia. ...

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

Convalescent plasma has been widely used to treat COVID-19 and is under investigation in numerous randomized clinical trials, but results are publicly available only for a small number of trials. The objective of this study was to assess the benefits of convalescent plasma treatment compared to placebo or no treatment and all-cause mortality in patients with COVID-19. ...

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

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) due to MDR organisms are increasingly common. The lack of paediatric data on efficacious antibiotics makes UTI treatment particularly challenging. Data on the efficacy of fosfomycin use for UTI in children are variable. ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2023
• July 2023

The role of children in the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains highly controversial. To address this issue, we performed a meta-analysis of the published literature on household SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters (n = 213 from 12 countries). Only 8 (3.8%) transmission clusters were identified as having a pediatric index case. ...

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

Teachers play a vital role in developing children's sun protection routines however upskilling preservice teachers (PSTs) while at university has not yet been trialled as a targeted skin cancer prevention strategy. Hence, this study investigated PSTs perceptions and experiences of sun safety following a brief pilot intervention and placement in primary schools in Western Australia. ...

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

Asha Bowen AC BA MBBS DCH FRACP PhD GAICD Team Lead, Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Team Lead, Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Areas of expertise: Skin infections, clinical trials, Streptococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Aboriginal children, ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Projects

Asha Tom Bowen Snelling AC T BA MBBS DCH FRACP PhD GAICD BMBS DTMH GDipClinEpid PhD FRACP Team Lead, Healthy Skin and ARF Prevention Head, Infectious Disease Implementation Research 08 6319 1817 tom.snelling@telethonkids.org.au Team Lead, Healthy ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Projects

Impetigo is a contagious skin disease caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. Without treatment, impetigo may be recurrent, develop into severe disease, or have serious, life-threatening sequelae. Standard treatment consists of topical or systemic antibiotic therapy (depending on severity), however, due to antibiotic resistance some therapies are increasingly ineffective. ...

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