Pregnancy and early infancy are increased risk periods for severe adverse effects of respiratory infections. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (respectfully referred to as First Nations) women and children in Australia bear a disproportionately higher burden of respiratory diseases compared to non-Indigenous women and infants. Influenza vaccines and whooping cough (pertussis) vaccines are recommended and free in every Australian pregnancy to combat these infections. ...

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

Asthma is among the commonest noncommunicable diseases of childhood and often occurs with other atopic comorbidities. A previous case-control study found evidence that compared to children who received acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines in early infancy, children who received one or more doses of whole-cell pertussis (wP) vaccine had lower risk of developing IgE-mediated food allergy. We hypothesized that wP vaccination in early infancy might protect against atopic asthma in childhood.  ...

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

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. RSV seasonality was disrupted by COVID-19-associated nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). We review RSV seasonality, molecular epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and community awareness to inform future prevention strategies.  ...

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

Both vector and mRNA vaccines were an important part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and may be required in future outbreaks and pandemics. The aim of this study was to validate whether immunogenicity differs for adenoviral vectored (AdV) versus mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, and to investigate how anti-vector immunity and B cell dynamics modulate immunogenicity.  ...

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

Epidemiologic data on invasive group C/G Streptococcus (iGCGS) infections are sparse internationally. Linked population-level hospital, pathology, and death data were used to describe the disease burden in Western Australia, Australia, during 2000-2018 compared with that of invasive group A Streptococcus (GAS, Streptococcus pyogenes) infections. ...

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

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infection control programs typically consist of school-based preventive chemotherapy (PC) targeted to school-aged children. STH reservoirs in untreated community members contribute to ongoing transmission in children. The CoDe-STH (Community Deworming against STH) trial, conducted in Dak Lak province, Vietnam, between October 2019 and November 2020, aimed to determine whether community-wide mass drug administration (MDA) is more effective than school-based targeted PC in reducing STH prevalence and intensity in children. ...

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

Australian Aboriginal people have among the highest rates of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) worldwide. This paper investigates clinical diagnosis, risk... ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2014
• September 2014

We outline the processes involved in conducting a Proof of Concept data linkage project including the implementation of national data integration principles ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2016
• January 2016

Bronchiolitis hospitalisations are a reasonable proxy for the timing of RSV detections, but may not fully capture the magnitude of RSV epidemics ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2016
• May 2016

Children who were born with reduced gestational age, birthweight, and birth length have persistently increased rates of infection-related admissions to hospital until age 18 years ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2016
• August 2016

A significant reduction in severe influenza was observed in Australian children, possibly contributed to by improved vaccine coverage and high vaccine effectiveness ...

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

This report summarises the epidemiology of hospitalisations with laboratory-confirmed influenza during the 2018 influenza season ...

• 1. Telethon Kids Institute
• Our research
• Reports and Findings
• 2019
• November 2019