DNA Barcoding for the Identification of Adult Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Western Australia.

Precise mosquito identification is integral to effective arbovirus surveillance. Nonetheless, the conventional morphological approach to identifying mosquito species is laborious, demands expertise and presents challenges when specimens are damaged. DNA barcoding offers a promising alternative, surmounting challenges inherent in morphological identification.

Metatranscriptomic Sequencing of Medically Important Mosquitoes Reveals Extensive Diversity of RNA Viruses and Other Microbial Communities in Western Australia.

Mosquitoes harbor a wide diversity of microorganisms, including viruses that are human pathogens, or that are insect specific. We used metatranscriptomics, an unbiased high-throughput molecular approach, to describe the composition of viral and other microbial communities in six medically important mosquito species from across Western Australia: , , , , biotype , and . We identified 42 viral species, including 13 novel viruses, from 19 families.

Development of a regional climate change model for and (Diptera: Culicidae) in Perth, Western Australia.

Mosquito-borne disease is a significant public health issue and within Australia Ross River virus (RRV) is the most reported. This study combines a mechanistic model of mosquito development for two mosquito vectors; and with climate projections from three climate models for two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), to examine the possible effects of climate change and sea-level rise on a temperate tidal saltmarsh habitat in Perth, Western Australia. The projections were run under no accretion and accretion scenarios using a known mosquito habitat as a case study.

An integrated public health response to an outbreak of Murray Valley encephalitis virus infection during the 2022-2023 mosquito season in Victoria.

Introduction: Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus known to cause infrequent yet substantial human outbreaks around the Murray Valley region of south-eastern Australia, resulting in significant mortality.

Methods: The public health response to MVEV in Victoria in 2022-2023 included a climate informed pre-season risk assessment, and vector surveillance with mosquito trapping and laboratory testing for MVEV. Human cases were investigated to collect enhanced surveillance data, and human clinical samples were subject to serological and molecular testing algorithms to assess for co-circulating flaviviruses.

Salvage Radiation Therapy After Radical Prostatectomy: Analysis of Toxicity by Dose-Fractionation in the RADICALS-RT Trial.

Purpose: Emerging data indicate comparable disease control and toxicity of normal postoperative fractionation and moderate hypofractionation radiation therapy (RT) in prostate cancer. In RADICALS-RT, patients were planned for treatment with either 66 Gy in 33 fractions (f) over 6.5 weeks or 52.

A Multi-Species Simulation of Mosquito Disease Vector Development in Temperate Australian Tidal Wetlands Using Publicly Available Data.

Worldwide, mosquito monitoring and control programs consume large amounts of resources in the effort to minimise mosquito-borne disease incidence. On-site larval monitoring is highly effective but time consuming. A number of mechanistic models of mosquito development have been developed to reduce the reliance on larval monitoring, but none for Ross River virus, the most commonly occurring mosquito-borne disease in Australia.

Erratum: UK Joint Advisory Group consensus statements for training and certification in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1055/a-1629-7540.].

UK Joint Advisory Group consensus statements for training and certification in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.

 Despite the high-risk nature of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), a robust and standardized credentialing process to ensure competency before independent practice is lacking worldwide. On behalf of the Joint Advisory Group (JAG), we aimed to develop evidence-based recommendations to form the framework of ERCP training and certification in the UK.  Under the oversight of the JAG, a modified Delphi process was conducted with stakeholder representation from the British Society of Gastroenterology, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, trainees and trainers.

The Role of National Specialist Societies in Influencing Transformational Change in Low-Middle Income Countries - Reflections on the Model of Implementation for a National Endoscopy Training Programme in Bangladesh.

The British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) and the Bangladesh Gastroenterology Society (BGS) have collaborated on an endoscopy training programme, which has grown up over the past decade from a small scheme borne out of the ideas of consultant gastroenterologists in Swansea, South Wales (United Kingdom) to improve gastroenterology services in Bangladesh to become a formalised training programme with broad reach. In this article, we document the socioeconomic and historical problems that beset Bangladesh, the current training needs of doctors and how the BSG-BGS collaboration has made inroads into changing outcomes both for gastroenterologists in Bangladesh, but also for the populations they serve.

Phylogenetic and Timescale Analysis of Barmah Forest Virus as Inferred from Genome Sequence Analysis.

Barmah Forest virus (BFV) is a medically important mosquito-borne alphavirus endemic to Australia. Symptomatic disease can be a major cause of morbidity, associated with fever, rash, and debilitating arthralgia. BFV disease is similar to that caused by Ross River virus (RRV), the other major Australian alphavirus.

The Diversity and Distribution of Viruses Associated with Mosquitoes from the Kimberley Region of Western Australia.

Metagenomics revealed an impressive breadth of previously unrecognized viruses. Here, we report the virome of the Skuse mosquito, an important vector of pathogenic arboviruses in Australia. Mosquitoes were collected from three sites in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Impact of a simulation-based induction programme in gastroscopy on trainee outcomes and learning curves.

Background: Pre-clinical simulation-based training (SBT) in endoscopy has been shown to augment trainee performance in the short-term, but longer-term data are lacking.

Aim: To assess the impact of a two-day gastroscopy induction course combining theory and SBT (Structured PRogramme of INduction and Training - SPRINT) on trainee outcomes over a 16-mo period.

Methods: This prospective case-control study compared outcomes between novice SPRINT attendees and controls matched from a United Kingdom training database.

The forecasting of dynamical Ross River virus outbreaks: Victoria, Australia.

Ross River virus (RRV) is Australia's most epidemiologically important mosquito-borne disease. During RRV epidemics in the State of Victoria (such as 2010/11 and 2016/17) notifications can account for up to 30% of national RRV notifications. However, little is known about factors which can forecast RRV transmission in Victoria.

Genome-Scale Phylogeny and Evolutionary Analysis of Ross River Virus Reveals Periodic Sweeps of Lineage Dominance in Western Australia, 1977-2014.

Ross River virus (RRV), an alphavirus of the family, is the most medically significant mosquito-borne virus of Australia. Past RRV phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses have been based on partial genome analyses only. Three geographically distinct RRV lineages, the Eastern, the Western, and the supposedly extinct North-Eastern lineage, were classified previously.

The Highs and Lows of Making a Bucket List-Quantifying Potential Mosquito Breeding Habitats in Metropolitan Backyards.

While the development of land for residential housing along the Swan and Canning Rivers in Perth, WA, Australia has reduced natural mosquito breeding sites, the role of backyard container breeding remains a relatively unknown factor. Local Governments responsible for these areas focus management and control efforts on low lying, tidally driven mosquito habitats to control (Skuse) and (Thomson) mosquitoes in an effort to reduce both the nuisance and disease risk to residents. In spite of their efforts, Local Governments continue to receive complaints regarding mosquito nuisance, even when environmental conditions do not favor hatching and development of the two species in the Swan River tidal flats.

High-Resolution Metatranscriptomics Reveals the Ecological Dynamics of Mosquito-Associated RNA Viruses in Western Australia.

Mosquitoes harbor a high diversity of RNA viruses, including many that impact human health. Despite a growing effort to describe the extent and nature of the mosquito virome, little is known about how these viruses persist, spread, and interact with both their hosts and other microbes. To address this issue we performed a metatranscriptomics analysis of 12 Western Australian mosquito populations structured by species and geographic location.

"Looking over the Backyard Fence": Householders and Mosquito Control.

(1) Background: Vector-borne diseases are a significant public health problem in Western Australia. Mosquitoes are responsible for the transmission of a number of pathogens and may pose a serious nuisance problem. Prevention efforts in the State are multi-faceted and include physical, chemical, and cultural control methods for restricting mosquito breeding.

Deployable Molecular Detection of Arboviruses in the Australian Outback.

The most common causes of human infection from the arboviruses that are endemic in Australia are the arthritogenic alphaviruses: Ross River virus (RRV) and Barmah Forest virus (BFV). The most serious infections are caused by the neurotropic flaviviruses, Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) and the Kunjin subtype of West Nile virus. The greatest individual risk of arbovirus infection occurs in tropical/subtropical northern Australia because of the warm, wet summer conditions from December to June, where conventional arbovirus surveillance is difficult due to a combination of low population density, large distances between population centers, poor roads, and seasonal flooding.

A Survey of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices in Relation to Mosquitoes and Mosquito-Borne Disease in Western Australia.

On average, more than 1,000 individuals will acquire a mosquito-borne disease in Western Australia (WA) each year. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) in relation to mosquitoes and mosquito-borne disease have not yet been investigated within Australia. A randomized telephone survey of 2,500 households across 12 regions in WA was undertaken between February and May 2014.

Proximity to mosquito breeding habitat and Ross River virus risk in the Peel region of Western Australia.

It is intuitive that vector-borne disease exposure risk is related to proximity to sources of vector breeding, but this aspect rarely receives empirical testing. The population of Western Australia (WA) is increasing rapidly, with many new residential developments proposed in close proximity to mosquito breeding habitat. However, potential mosquito-borne disease risks for future residents are given little consideration by planning authorities.

Ross River virus risk associated with dispersal of Aedes (Ochlerotatus) camptorhynchus (Thomson) from breeding habitat into surrounding residential areas: muddy lakes, Western Australia.

Rapid population growth in Western Australia has resulted in increased development of land for residential housing, and new developments are often proposed close to water because of intrinsic aesthetic values. However, this placement may place future residents at risk of mosquito-borne disease, of which Ross River virus (RRV) disease is the most common in Australia. Mosquito dispersal data were combined with a spatial analysis of human RRV cases to show that mosquitoes dispersed readily from larval habitat into surrounding low- and high-density residential areas and that residents living within 2 km of mosquito breeding habitat had a significantly higher rate of RRV disease.

ISFM guidelines on population management and welfare of unowned domestic cats (Felis catus).

Unlabelled: GUIDELINES RATIONALE: Cats are among the most commonly kept domestic pets, and coexist with humans in a variety of different circumstances. Cats are sentient beings and, as such, humans have a responsibility for cat welfare where humans and cats coexist. Because cats reproduce efficiently, measures to control populations are frequently needed, but these should be based on ethical and humane approaches.