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Nirsevimab is a long-acting monoclonal antibody used to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in infants and high-risk children. During the 2024 RSV season in Western Australia, 21 922 doses were administered to infants entering their first season and 1221 doses to at-risk children. In this context, the selection and spread of escape variants are a potential concern. This study aimed to investigate nirsevimab binding site mutations using clinical and wastewater data.
During exacerbations, when symptom and treatment burden are increased, individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) are likely to prefer airway clearance techniques (ACTs) that require minimal effort. Therefore, in adults with CF who were hospitalised with an exacerbation, we sought to compare the effect of the MetaNeb with usual ACTs on respiratory function and expectorated sputum.
This study investigated adherence to Indonesia's Dietary Guidelines (IDG) among lactating women, examining related factors and association with nutrient intake adequacy, maternal and infant biomarkers, body mass index, and growth. Participants were lactating women (n = 220) from urban and rural West Java, Indonesia. Dietary intake (via 3-day weighed food records), anthropometry and blood samples were assessed. Adherence was evaluated using a scoring system tailored for IDG and adapted from the Healthy Eating Index to assess intake of food groups, sugar, salt, fat, water, coffee, and breakfast habits.
Bringing optimised coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine schedules to immunocompromised populations (BOOST-IC) is a multi-site, adaptive platform trial designed to assess the effect of different booster vaccination schedules in the Australian immunocompromised population on the immunogenicity, safety and cross-protection against COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants.
Diarrhoea remains a leading cause of mortality among children under five years of age, with over 99 % of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Poor water quality, inadequate sanitation, poverty, undernutrition, and limited healthcare access contribute to this lingering problem, together with emerging environmental stressors driven by climate change.
Cases identified through mass testing represent only a fraction of infections, depending on the propensity of infected individuals to seek testing. Quantifying the variation in test-seeking behaviour through time or between population subgroups provides important information on testing uptake and supports epidemiological analyses of case data that may otherwise be biased.
Preterm birth is associated with increased mortality and morbidity, particularly due to lung disease. Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) have the highest rates of preterm birth. Infants born extremely preterm rarely survive, so the largest burden is amongst moderate-to-late preterm (MLP) infants. The long-term health impact on MLP children in LMIC is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of MLP birth on lung function trajectories from birth to 5 years in the Drakenstein Child Health Study.
Culturally safe healthcare approaches are important to improve outcomes of Indigenous people. Non-Indigenous clinicians are often ill-prepared to provide such healthcare. The NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) especially for First Nations Children has been studying for several years how to improve clinical care for Indigenous children with respiratory disease in hospital, clinic, urban, rural and remote settings.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are diverse, strong and faced with adverse social circumstances and unacceptable health and wellbeing outcomes wrought by colonisation. The need for strengths-based initiatives that tailor services according to local knowledges is well accepted, yet few studies have evaluated self-determined strategies to redress the social determinants of health.
Matt Cooper BCA Marketing, BSc Statistics and Applied Statistics, PhD Manager, Biostatistics 08 6319 1723 matt.cooper@thekids.org.au Manager,