Uptake of guideline-based testing for chronic viral hepatitis in Australian primary care: retrospective analysis of electronic medical record data.

Background Diagnosis is essential for engagement in care for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC), however, many Australians remain undiagnosed, especially for CHB. Primary care represents an important setting for testing, and this study sought to examine coverage in a large representative cohort of patients. Methods We analysed retrospective data from the electronic medical records of active patients visiting 566 primary care clinics in Victoria, Australia.

'To get freedom, one went abroad a lot': British Homosexual Men and Continental Europe as a Site of Emancipation, 1950-75.

This article traces the leisure travel of British homosexual men in continental Europe between 1950 and 1975. The aim of this article is to challenge narratives of British post-war sexual rights discourses as isolated from continental Europe. Taking a transnational approach, which examines the ways in which Britain was embedded in processes of social and cultural change across Europe, it charts informal encounters and networks of cultural communication forged by homosexual men themselves during the post-war tourist boom.

Hepatitis B clinical care provision in pregnancy: A whole-of-population linkage study in Victoria, Australia.

Background And Aim: Pregnancy is a key setting for engagement in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) care, due to the implications for transmission to the infant and antenatal diagnosis representing an opportunity for ongoing follow-up. This study aimed to identify the coverage and predictors of clinical care for women with CHB during and after pregnancy in a population-level cohort.

Methods: Notified CHB cases in Victoria, Australia, were linked with hospitalizations, medical services, and prescribing data, covering the period 1991-2018.

Evaluating a novel model of hepatitis B care, Hep B PAST, in the Northern Territory of Australia: results from a prospective, population-based study.

Background: The Northern Territory (NT) has the highest prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Australia. The Hep B PAST program aims to improve health outcomes for people living with CHB.

Methods: This mixed methods study involves First Nations peoples living in the NT.

The cascade of care for hepatitis C in Victoria, Australia: a data linkage cohort study.

Background: Highly effective hepatitis C therapies are available in Australia. However, people living with hepatitis C face various barriers to accessing care and treatment.

Aims: To identify gaps in the cascade of care for hepatitis C and generate estimates of the number living with untreated infection according to population group, using a representative longitudinal study population.

The associations between invasive group A streptococcal disease and infection with influenza, varicella, or hepatitis C viruses: A data linkage study, Victoria, Australia.

Objectives: To quantify the associations between invasive group A streptococcal disease (iGAS) incidence and influenza, varicella, and chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV).

Methods: We used individual-level linked data of iGAS cases from Victoria, Australia (2007-2017) to assess associations between these viral infections and iGAS. A self-controlled case series method was used to estimate the relative incidence of iGAS following an influenza or varicella infection, while the relative incidence of iGAS among HCV cases, and HCV cases who inject drugs, was estimated using population-level data and a negative binomial regression model.

Hepatitis C direct-acting antiviral treatment completion: Comparison of geographic, demographic and clinical characteristics in Australia.

Background And Objectives: Hepatitis C virus treatment uptake varies by geographic area in Australia; however, analysis has not been conducted on variations in treatment completion. This study investigated treatment completion according to remoteness, as well as demographic and clinical characteristics.

Method: A retrospective analysis was conducted on all Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme claim data from March 2016 to June 2019.

Missed opportunities for diagnosis of hepatitis B and C in individuals diagnosed with decompensated cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background And Aim: This study aimed to assess utilization of health-care services in people with decompensated cirrhosis (DC) or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and a "late diagnosis" of hepatitis B or hepatitis C.

Methods: Hepatitis B and C cases during 1997-2016 in Victoria, Australia, were linked with hospitalizations, deaths, liver cancer diagnoses, and medical services. A late diagnosis was defined as hepatitis B or hepatitis C notification occurring after, at the same time, or within 2 years preceding an HCC/DC diagnosis.

Modelling jurisdictional disparities in the cascade of care for chronic hepatitis B in Australia: impact of treatment uptake on mortality.

Objective: Investigate the cascade of care for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and estimate impacts of increasing treatment uptake on attributable burden, according to jurisdiction.

Methods: A mathematical model of CHB in Australia was utilised, combined with notifiable disease and Medicare data. We estimated the proportion with CHB who were diagnosed, engaged in care and receiving treatment in each state/territory, and projected future mortality.

Australian consensus recommendations for the management of hepatitis B.

Introduction: The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in Australia is nearly 1%. In certain well defined groups the prevalence is far greater, yet an estimated 27% of people living with HBV infection remain undiagnosed. Appropriate screening improves detection, increases opportunity for treatment, and ultimately reduces the significant morbidity and mortality associated with the development of liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The Inaugural Australian Centre for Hepatitis Virology Public Panel Discussion on Viral Hepatitis Research-Lessons in Scientific Community Outreach.

Viral hepatitis remains one of the most significant health issues globally, directly responsible for over 1 million deaths each year and affecting almost 300 million people around the world. Scientific research in recent decades has brought about improvements in the lives of people living with chronic viral hepatitis. On the 29 July 2021, the Australian Centre for Hepatitis Virology (ACHV) for the first time held a public educational forum for the general public.

Rapid-Cycle Evaluation in an Early Intervention Program for Children With Developmental Disabilities in South India: Optimizing Service Providers' Quality of Work-Life, Family Program Engagement, and School Enrollment.

This paper explores how implementation and refinement of an early intervention (EI) program for children with delayed development was informed by an iterative, intentional and structured process of measurement. Providing access to early intervention therapy for children in rural areas of India is challenging due to a lack of rehabilitation therapists and programs. Following a biopsychosocial framework and principles of community-based rehabilitation, a non-governmental organization, Amar Seva Sangam (ASSA), overcame those barriers by designing a digital technology supported EI program in rural Tamil Nadu, India.

Where has all the influenza gone? The impact of COVID-19 on the circulation of influenza and other respiratory viruses, Australia, March to September 2020.

The coronavirus disease pandemic was declared in March 2020, as the southern hemisphere's winter approached. Australia expected co-circulation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, influenza and other seasonal respiratory viruses. However, influenza notifications were 7,029 (March-September) compared with an average 149,832 for the same period in 2015-2019 [corrected], despite substantial testing.

Impact of a family-centred early intervention programme in South India on caregivers of children with developmental delays.

Background: This study evaluated the impact on caregiver strain and family empowerment among caregivers of children with disabilities who received training and education as part of a family-centred community-based early intervention programme in South India.

Methods: This prospective open cohort longitudinal study compared change from baseline to two years post-intervention among caregivers of the first cohort of children who were enrolled in the programme. Paired t-tests determined effect on the Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI) and Family Empowerment Scale (FES), and -values were adjusted for multiple comparisons using the False Discovery Rate approach.

Incidence of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Higher Among People Notified With Markers of Hepatitis C Virus Infection: Population-based Surveillance in Victoria, Australia, 2001-2017.

Background: Worse outcomes from invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) have been reported among those coinfected with hepatitis C. We aimed to establish if IPD notification rates are higher among people notified with markers of hepatitis C virus infection than the general population.

Methods: IPD cases notified in Victoria, Australia, from July 2001-December 2017 were linked with hepatitis C cases (diagnosed by serology or PCR testing) notified from January 1991-December 2017.

Complete Genome Sequences of Virus Strains Isolated from Bottle A of the South African Live Attenuated Bluetongue Virus Vaccine.

This is a report of the complete genome sequences of plaque-selected isolates of five virus strains included in bottle A of the South African Onderstepoort Biological Products commercial live attenuated bluetongue virus vaccine.

Adherence in chronic hepatitis B: associations between medication possession ratio and adverse viral outcomes.

Background: Antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is effective and can substantially reduce the risk of progressive liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma but is often administered for an indefinite duration. Adherence has been shown in clinical trials to maximize the benefit of therapy and prevent the development of resistance, however the optimal threshold for predicting clinical outcomes has not been identified. The aim of this study was to analyse adherence using the medication possession ration (MPR) and its relation to virological outcomes in a large multi-centre hospital outpatient population, and guide development of an evidence-based threshold for optimal adherence.

Genetic Programming Hyper-Heuristics with Vehicle Collaboration for Uncertain Capacitated Arc Routing Problems.

Due to its direct relevance to post-disaster operations, meter reading and civil refuse collection, the Uncertain Capacitated Arc Routing Problem (UCARP) is an important optimisation problem. Stochastic models are critical to study as they more accurately represent the real world than their deterministic counterparts. Although there have been extensive studies in solving routing problems under uncertainty, very few have considered UCARP, and none consider collaboration between vehicles to handle the negative effects of uncertainty.