Publications by authors named "D J Murdoch"
Microbiology reference laboratories perform a crucial role within public health systems. This role was especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this Viewpoint, we emphasise the importance of microbiology reference laboratories and highlight the types of digital data and expertise they provide, which benefit national and international public health.
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- Zoonotic pathogens, facilitated by agricultural intensification, are raising global health concerns, particularly regarding interactions between humans, livestock, and wildlife.
- The study focused on the transmission of a specific pathogen causing mastitis in dairy cows and affecting humans, investigating samples from dairy farms and a primary school in New Zealand.
- Results revealed 13 transmission clusters, mostly within species, but identified one potential zoonotic transmission cluster, along with low antimicrobial resistance but a concerning gene detected in a bovine isolate.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated the prevalence and characteristics of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) in children with severe pneumonia across seven African and Asian countries, finding a significant correlation between hMPV and pneumonia cases compared to community controls.
- HMPV was more frequently detected in hospitalized pneumonia cases (6.9%) than in controls (2.3%), with a notable negative association with RSV and a positive association with bacterial infections.
- The majority of hMPV-positive cases were infants under one year, with low mortality rates similar to those of RSV-positive cases, indicating that hMPV pneumonia is challenging to distinguish from RSV pneumonia in clinical settings.
Objectives: COVID-19 severity prediction scores need further validation due to evolving COVID-19 illness. We evaluated existing COVID-19 risk prediction scores in Aotearoa New Zealand, including for Māori and Pacific peoples who have been inequitably affected by COVID-19.
Methods: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study in adults hospitalized with COVID-19 from January to May 2022, including all Māori and Pacific patients, and every second non-Māori, non-Pacific (NMNP) patient to achieve equal analytic power by ethnic grouping.