Paediatric thoracic empyema in the tropical North Queensland region of Australia: Epidemiological trends over a decade.

Aim: The Townsville Hospital and Health Service is the regional referral centre for children in the north of Queensland. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people make up 7-10% of the population. Increasing numbers of children with paediatric thoracic empyema (pTE) are being referred to Townsville Hospital and Health Service for management.

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis in North Queensland: the paediatric experience.

Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) is a fulminant, diffuse haemorrhagic meningoencephalitis caused by Naegleria fowleri, with an almost invariably fatal outcome. In Australia and the developed world, PAM remains a rare disease, although it is very likely that large numbers of cases go undetected in developing countries. N.

Sexual behavior and reproductive health among HIV-infected patients in urban and rural South Africa.

Background: With the rollout of antiretroviral therapy in South Africa and its potential to prolong the lives of HIV-infected individuals, understanding the sexual behavior of HIV-positive people is essential to curbing secondary HIV transmission.

Methods: We surveyed 3,819 HIV-positive patients during their first visit to an urban wellness clinic and a rural wellness clinic.

Results: Urban residents were more likely than rural residents to have current regular sex partners (75.