Publications by authors named "CAPON A"

Background: Heat stress impacts are an escalating global health concern. Public health bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO) warn that certain medications impair thermoregulation, with limited supporting evidence. Our aim was to investigate whether medications listed by the WHO increase core temperature responses during heat stress.

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  • Non-optimum temperatures contribute significantly to premature deaths and labor productivity losses, with a focus on quantifying these impacts across several countries.
  • The study, which analyzed mortality data from 1,066 locations, found a U-shaped relationship between temperature and productivity-adjusted life-years (PALY) lost, with cold-related deaths having a more profound effect on older age groups and heat-related deaths affecting younger individuals.
  • Results indicated that socioeconomically vulnerable communities experience greater productivity losses due to non-optimal temperatures, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to mitigate these impacts.
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The MJA-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change in Australia was established in 2017 and produced its first national assessment in 2018 and annual updates in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. It examines five broad domains: health hazards, exposures and impacts; adaptation, planning and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. In this, the sixth report of the MJA-Lancet Countdown, we track progress on an extensive suite of indicators across these five domains, accessing and presenting the latest data and further refining and developing our analyses.

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Objectives: To describe the impact of universal screening for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on passengers on cruise ships docking in Sydney, Australia, during 2022 that experienced a significant outbreak of COVID-19. Type of program or service: Cruise ship disease surveillance Methods: Case series, based on analysis of cruise ship voyages where universal screening of passengers was requested by a NSW health authority and undertaken by the cruise ship.

Results: Of 111 voyages in 2022, three fit the definition for this study.

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Objectives: To assess the population health impact of high temperatures on workplace health and safety by estimating the burden of heat-attributable occupational injury in Australia.

Study Design, Setting: Retrospective observational study; estimation of burden of occupational injury in Australia attributable to high temperatures during 2014-19, based on Safe Work Australia (work-related traumatic injury fatalities and workers' compensation databases) and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data (Australian Burden of Disease Study and National Hospital Morbidity databases), and a meta-analysis of climate zone-specific risk data.

Main Outcome Measure: Burden of heat-attributable occupational injuries as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), comprising the numbers of years of life lived with disability (YLDs) and years of life lost (YLLs), nationally, by Köppen-Geiger climate zone, and by state and territory.

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Background: The dual impacts of a warming climate and population ageing lead to an increasing kidney disease prevalence, highlighting the importance of quantifying the burden of kidney disease (BoKD) attributable to high temperature, yet studies on this subject are limited. The study aims to quantify the BoKD attributable to high temperatures in Australia across all states and territories, and project future BoKD under climatic, population and adaptation scenarios.

Methods: Data on disability-adjusted-life-years (DALYs) due to kidney disease, including years of life lost (YLL), and years lived with disability (YLD), were collected during 2003-2018 (baseline) across all states and territories in Australia.

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  • - The study aimed to identify and control a Legionella outbreak in Sydney CBD, utilizing multiple techniques for accurate detection.
  • - Eleven cases of legionellosis were linked to the outbreak, primarily affecting older males, with genomic analysis pinpointing a contaminated cooling water source.
  • - The findings emphasize the need for prompt public health responses to such outbreaks and highlight the importance of collaboration between various health professionals for effective source identification.
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Background: With high temperature becoming an increasing health risk due to a changing climate, it is important to quantify the scale of the problem. However, estimating the burden of disease (BoD) attributable to high temperature can be challenging due to differences in risk patterns across geographical regions and data accessibility issues.

Methods: We present a methodological framework that uses Köppen-Geiger climate zones to refine exposure levels and quantifies the difference between the burden observed due to high temperatures and what would have been observed if the population had been exposed to the theoretical minimum risk exposure distribution (TMRED).

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  • - The study in New South Wales examined the effectiveness of an active contact tracing method for follow-up on hepatitis B exposure, contrasting it with the usual passive approach led by general practitioners.
  • - In this investigation, staff and clients from a dental practice, identified as a potential hepatitis B exposure site, were contacted multiple times to request blood tests, leading to a participation rate of just 39% among eligible individuals.
  • - While the active follow-up required significant resources and staff time ($30,000 and 430 hours), it demonstrated the ability to accurately document participation rates, suggesting that active methods may be beneficial for managing high-risk blood borne virus exposures despite their intensity.
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  • The MJA-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change in Australia started in 2017 and checks how climate change affects people's health, looking at things like disasters and planning for the future.
  • Australia has faced serious weather problems, like heatwaves, bushfires, and floods, leading to loss of life and many people being forced to leave their homes.
  • While there are some good changes, like more electric cars and plans for renewable energy, the government is still slow in making a complete plan to protect health from climate change, putting Australians at risk.
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Background: Heat exposure is an important but underappreciated risk factor contributing to cardiovascular disease. Warming temperatures might therefore pose substantial challenges to population health, especially in a rapidly aging population. To address a potential increase in the burden of cardiovascular disease, a better understanding of the effects of ambient heat on different types of cardiovascular disease and factors contributing to vulnerability is required, especially in the context of climate change.

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  • A COVID-19 exposure assessment tool was developed for workplaces, focusing on five risk criteria and tested for usability by Public Health Unit assessors.* -
  • In a study involving 84 workplaces, the tool proved effective, requiring no modifications in 70% of cases and achieving an 80% completion rate by the following day, with assessors rating it as 'easy' or 'very easy'.* -
  • The findings suggest that the tool is user-friendly, which could enhance workplace safety and public health efforts in preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission.*
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Background: Increasing air conditioner use for cooling indoor spaces has the potential to be a primary driver of global greenhouse gas emissions. Moving indoor air with residential fans can raise the temperature threshold at which air conditioning needs to be turned on to maintain the thermal comfort of building occupants. We investigate whether fans can be used to reduce air conditioner use and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

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One Health is a ground-breaking philosophy for improving health. It imaginatively challenges centuries-old assumptions about wellbeing and is now widely regarded as the 'best solution' for mitigating human health problems, including pandemic zoonotic diseases. One Health's success is imperative because without big changes to the status quo, great suffering and ill-health will follow.

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The prompt production of the charm baryon Λ_{c}^{+} and the Λ_{c}^{+}/D^{0} production ratios were measured at midrapidity with the ALICE detector in pp and p-Pb collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=5.02  TeV. These new measurements show a clear decrease of the Λ_{c}^{+}/D^{0} ratio with increasing transverse momentum (p_{T}) in both collision systems in the range 2 View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Article Synopsis
  • The MJA-Lancet Countdown on health and climate change in Australia, established in 2017, assesses health-related indicators across five key domains, including climate impacts, adaptation strategies, and public engagement.
  • The 2021 report highlights increasing vulnerabilities due to excess heat, which negatively affects outdoor activities and productivity while also recognizing the disproportionate effects on Indigenous Australians.
  • Although there are positive local actions, such as the rise in renewable energy and EVs, national policies hinder progress and Australia must now address health crises linked to climate change following the COVID-19 pandemic and recent bushfires.
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The event-by-event correlations between three flow amplitudes are measured for the first time in Pb-Pb collisions, using higher-order symmetric cumulants. We find that different three-harmonic correlations develop during the collective evolution of the medium when compared to correlations that exist in the initial state. These new results cannot be interpreted in terms of previous lower-order flow measurements since contributions from two-harmonic correlations are explicitly removed in the new observables.

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Objectives: To describe local operational aspects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response during the first three waves of outbreaks in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, which began in January, July and December 2020. Type of program or service: Public health outbreak response.

Methods: Narrative with epidemiological linking and genomic testing.

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Background: The occurrence or exacerbation of kidney disease has been documented as a growing problem associated with hot weather. The implementation of effective prevention measures requires a better understanding of the risk factors that increase susceptibility. To fill gaps in knowledge, this study reviews the current literature on the effects of heat on kidney-disease outcomes (ICD-10 N00-N39), including morbidity and mortality.

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Heat extremes (ie, heatwaves) already have a serious impact on human health, with ageing, poverty, and chronic illnesses as aggravating factors. As the global community seeks to contend with even hotter weather in the future as a consequence of global climate change, there is a pressing need to better understand the most effective prevention and response measures that can be implemented, particularly in low-resource settings. In this Series paper, we describe how a future reliance on air conditioning is unsustainable and further marginalises the communities most vulnerable to the heat.

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Hot ambient conditions and associated heat stress can increase mortality and morbidity, as well as increase adverse pregnancy outcomes and negatively affect mental health. High heat stress can also reduce physical work capacity and motor-cognitive performances, with consequences for productivity, and increase the risk of occupational health problems. Almost half of the global population and more than 1 billion workers are exposed to high heat episodes and about a third of all exposed workers have negative health effects.

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