Background: Antibiotic resistance is rising globally and is a major One Health problem. How much person-to-person transmission or 'contagion' contributes to the spread of resistant strains compared with antibiotic usage remains unclear. As part of its COVID-19 response, Australia introduced strict people movement restrictions in early 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Two Weeks in the World research project has resulted in a dataset of 3087 clinically relevant bacterial genomes with pertaining metadata, collected from 59 diagnostic units in 35 countries around the world during 2020. A relational database is available with metadata and summary data from selected bioinformatic analysis, such as species prediction and identification of acquired resistance genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Australia has a high rate of antibiotic use. Government policy interventions are one strategy to optimise the use of antibiotics. On 1 April 2020, the Australian Government Department of Health introduced a policy intervention to increase the quality use of four antibiotics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLancet Reg Health West Pac
January 2023
Australia avoided the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but still experienced many negative impacts. Reflecting on lessons from Australia's public health response, an Australian expert panel composed of relevant discipline experts identified the following key lessons: 1) movement restrictions were effective, but their implementation requires careful consideration of adverse impacts, 2) disease modelling was valuable, but its limitations should be acknowledged, 3) the absence of timely national data requires re-assessment of national surveillance structures, 4) the utility of advanced pathogen genomics and novel vaccine technology was clearly demonstrated, 5) decision-making that is evidence informed and consultative is essential to maintain trust, 6) major system weaknesses in the residential aged-care sector require fixing, 7) adequate infection prevention and control frameworks are critically important, 8) the interests and needs of young people should not be compromised, 9) epidemics should be recognised as a 'standing threat', 10) regional and global solidarity is important. It should be acknowledged that we were unable to capture all relevant nuances and context specific differences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOutdoors, the risks of transmission of COVID-19 and many other respiratory infections are low. Several environmental factors are known to reduce the viability of viruses and other infectious pathogens in the air. They include variations in temperature, relative humidity, solar ultraviolet radiation, and dilution effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrob Resist Infect Control
November 2021
Background: The effect of eye protection to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in the real-world remains uncertain. We aimed to synthesize all available research on the potential impact of eye protection on transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
Methods: We searched PROSPERO, PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library for clinical trials and comparative observational studies in CENTRAL, and Europe PMC for pre-prints.
J Assoc Med Microbiol Infect Dis Can
September 2021
JAC Antimicrob Resist
September 2020
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is affected by many factors, but too much of our focus has been on antimicrobial usage. The major factor that drives resistance rates globally is spread. The COVID-19 pandemic should lead to improved infection prevention and control practices, both in healthcare facilities and the community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Escherichia coli is the most common cause of bloodstream infections (BSIs) and mortality is an important aspect of burden of disease. Using a multinational population-based cohort of E. coli BSIs, our objectives were to evaluate 30-day case fatality risk and mortality rate, and determine factors associated with each.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe coronavirus, named SARS-CoV-2, is the cause of COVID-19. This virus spreads readily from person to person and predominantly to and from the respiratory route and through droplets. There are many different interventions that can be and are used to decrease successfully the risk and spread of COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOf 1033 Escherichia coli urinary tract infection isolates collected from females >12 years of age in Australia in 2019, only 2 isolates were resistant to fosfomycin with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of >256 mg/L. Despite having different multilocus sequence types, the two isolates harboured an identical plasmid-encoded fosA4 gene. The fosA4 gene has previously been identified in a single clinical E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Healthcare workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs may contribute to the transmission of influenza-like illness (ILI) to colleagues and susceptible patients by working while sick (presenteeism). The present study aimed to explore the views and behavior of HCWs and non-HCWs towards the phenomenon of working while experiencing ILI.
Methods: The study was a cross-sectional online survey conducted between October 2018 and January 2019 to explore sickness presenteeism and the behaviour of HCWs and non-HCWs when experiencing ILI.
Background: Recent studies have shown that over 50% of people travelling to Southeast Asia return colonized with multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales (MRE) including carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales. Importation of MRE by travellers and subsequent spread to family members, communities and healthcare facilities poses real risks that have not yet been adequately assessed. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to quantify the risk factors and interventions for reducing the risk of MRE acquisition among international travellers.
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