Diagnostic Challenges and Emerging Opportunities for the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory.

Purpose Of Review: This review summarises the epidemiology of infection and describes contemporary and emerging diagnostic methods for detection and identification of .

Recent Findings: A fifth clade has been described. Diagnostic accuracy has improved with development of selective/differential media for .

The rise of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus: now the dominant cause of skin and soft tissue infection in Central Australia.

This study aimed to examine the epidemiology and treatment outcomes of community-onset purulent staphylococcal skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) in Central Australia. We performed a prospective observational study of patients hospitalised with community-onset purulent staphylococcal SSTI (n = 160). Indigenous patients accounted for 78% of cases.

High burden of complicated skin and soft tissue infections in the Indigenous population of Central Australia due to dominant Panton Valentine leucocidin clones ST93-MRSA and CC121-MSSA.

Background: Superficial skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are common among the Indigenous population of the desert regions of Central Australia. However, the overall burden of disease and molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus complicated SSTIs has yet to be described in this unique population.

Methods: Alice Springs Hospital (ASH) admission data was interrogated to establish the population incidence of SSTIs.

Management of type 2 diabetes - a community partnership approach.

Background: The impact of type 2 diabetes is severe in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Fitzroy Valley, a remote region of the Kimberley in Western Australia, has a high population of Indigenous Australians. An effective community partnership has been formed between the local hospital, the population health service and local health services.

Failure of medical therapy in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Is there an alternative diagnosis?

Background: Despite the development of targeted therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), some patients fail to respond to medical therapy. There are a number of types of PAH, one of which is pulmonary venoocclusive disease (PVOD). Unlike other PAH types, the hallmark pathology of PVOD is fibrous occlusion of the small venules, potentially with arterial involvement.