A Community-Directed Integrated Control Program in Queensland, Australia.

This paper describes two phases of a community-directed intervention to address strongyloidiasis in the remote Aboriginal community of Woorabinda in central Queensland, Australia. The first phase provides the narrative of a community-driven 'treat-and-test' mass drug administration (MDA) intervention that was co-designed by the Community Health Service and the community. The second phase is a description of the re-engagement of the community in order to disseminate the key factors for success in the previous MDA for , as this information was not shared or captured in the first phase.

Implications of male circumcision for women in Papua New Guinea: a transformational grounded theory study.

Background: Male circumcision reduces the risk of female-to-male transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and is being explored for HIV prevention in Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG has a concentrated HIV epidemic which is largely heterosexually transmitted. There are a diverse range of male circumcision and penile modification practices across PNG.

Orientation of Head Lice on Human Hosts, and Consequences for Transmission of Pediculosis: The Head Lice Movement Studies.

We performed head lice movement studies to elucidate factors influencing orientation and movement of head lice. Studies included observation of lice movements on hand and forearm at different positions of the upper limb; movements exposed to unshaved and shaved forearm; and movements with and without antennae. In 57 of 60 (95.

Countries' response to WHO's travel recommendations during the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak.

Objective: To determine how, during the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak in western Africa, States Parties to the World Health Organization's (WHO) 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) followed the IHR's international travel recommendations.

Methods: In 2015, we used the Google search engine to investigate the 196 States Parties to the 2005 IHR. Information detailing Ebola-related travel regulations or restrictions of each State Party was sourced first from official government websites and then from travel and news websites.

A Case of Ancylostoma ceylanicum Infection Occurring in an Australian Soldier Returned from Solomon Islands.

A 26-year-old male member of the Australian Defense Force presented with a history of central abdominal pain of 4 weeks duration and peripheral eosinophilia consistent with eosinophilic enteritis. Acute hookworm disease was diagnosed as the cause. Adult worms recovered from feces after therapy with albendazole were morphologically consistent with Ancylostoma ceylanicum.

Forecasted Impact of Climate Change on Infectious Disease and Health Security in Hawaii by 2050.

Objective: Climate change is expected to cause extensive shifts in the epidemiology of infectious and vector-borne diseases. Scenarios on the effects of climate change typically attribute altered distribution of communicable diseases to a rise in average temperature and altered incidence of infectious diseases to weather extremes.

Methods: Recent evaluations of the effects of climate change on Hawaii have not explored this link.

Chronic strongyloidiasis - Don't look and you won't find.

Background: Strongyloidiasis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases and it exists in Australia. Patients may have acquired their initial infection while in an endemic area. Because of the autoinfective cycle of Strongyloides stercoralis, the causative agent, these patients may remain infected for life unless effectively treated.

Prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths in remote villages in East Kwaio, Solomon Islands.

Objective: Although soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are endemic in Solomon Islands, there are few recent reports on their prevalence. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of STH in residents of remote communities in Solomon Islands.

Methods: A cross-sectional convenience-sampled survey of residents of four adjacent villages in Malaita, Solomon Islands was performed in Atoifi and Na'au in April 2011 and in Abitona and Sifilo in April 2012.

Measles outbreak investigation in a remote area of Solomon Islands, 2014.

Objective: To describe a measles outbreak and health service response in a remote location in Malaita, Solomon Islands.

Methods: Epidemiological review of cases who presented to the Atoifi Adventist Hospital (AAH) during the outbreak period from July to December 2014. Rumour surveillance was used to gather information on unreported cases.

Mental health issues from rising sea level in a remote coastal region of the Solomon Islands: current and future.

Objective: There is little published research about mental health and climate change in the Pacific, including Solomon Islands. Solomon Islands has one of the highest rates of sea-level rise globally. The aim of this research was to document mental health issues related to sea-level rise for people in East Malaita, Solomon Islands.

Communicable diseases in rural and remote Australia: the need for improved understanding and action.

Introduction: Rural and remote communities of Australia, particularly those including Aboriginal people, experience greater morbidity and mortality across a range of health outcomes compared to urban communities. Previous national data have demonstrated that rural and remote communities experience a disproportionate burden of communicable diseases compared to their urban counterparts. This systematic review was undertaken to describe the types of research that have explored the epidemiology of communicable diseases in rural and remote communities in Australia, with particular reference to the social determinants of health.

Surgical Treatment of Genital Manifestations of Lymphatic Filariasis: A Systematic Review.

Genital manifestations of lymphatic filariasis (genital LF) are a significant cause of disfigurement and disability in the developing world. Surgery is the standard treatment; however, definitive publications are lacking and best practice remains unclear. An exhaustive search strategy using keyword and subject headings was applied to Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Scopus.

Strengthening capacity for local evidence to inform local responses to HIV in a remote Solomon Islands health service.

Background: Documenting specific knowledge and attitudes about HIV in the culturally diverse nation of Solomon Islands is essential to inform locally targeted public health responses. As part of a large capacity-strengthening project at Atoifi Adventist Hospital in East Kwaio, Solomon Islands, researchers, using a 'learn-by-doing' process, worked with participants in public health research methods.

Methods: Overall, 43 people attended research capacity building workshops in 2011; eight joined the HIV study group.

Willingness to Consult a Veterinarian on Physician's Advice for Zoonotic Diseases: A Formal Role for Veterinarians in Medicine?

Physicians appear to find zoonotic diseases a challenge and consider that this topic belongs more to the veterinary profession. However, veterinarians have no formal role in clinical medicine. Data were collected as part of the Queensland Social Survey 2014 to determine the willingness of the public, if diagnosed with a zoonotic disease, to consult a veterinarian on the advice of a physician.

Using a participatory action research framework to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia about pandemic influenza.

Introduction: This article describes the use and effectiveness of the participatory action research (PAR) framework to better understand community members' perceptions and risks of pandemic influenza. In 2009, the H1N1 influenza pandemic affected Indigenous populations more than non-Indigenous populations in Oceania and the Americas. Higher prevalence of comorbidities (diabetes, obesity, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) as well as pregnancy in Indigenous communities may have contributed to the higher risks of severe disease.

Hospital preparedness for Ebola virus disease: a training course in the Philippines.

Objective: To develop, teach and evaluate a training workshop that could rapidly prepare large numbers of health professionals working in hospitals in the Philippines to detect and safely manage Ebola virus disease (EVD). The strategy was to train teams (each usually with five members) of key health professionals from public, private and local government hospitals across the Philippines who could then guide Ebola preparedness in their hospitals.

Methods: The workshop was developed collaboratively by the Philippine Department of Health and the country office of the World Health Organization.

First human case of fatal Halicephalobus gingivalis meningoencephalitis in Australia.

Halicephalobus gingivalis (previously Micronema deletrix) is a free-living nematode known to cause opportunistic infections, mainly in horses. Human infections are very rare, but all cases described to date involved fatal meningoencephalitis. Here we report the first case of H.

Experimental evolution alters the rate and temporal pattern of population growth in Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a lethal fungal pathogen of amphibians.

Virulence of infectious pathogens can be unstable and evolve rapidly depending on the evolutionary dynamics of the organism. Experimental evolution can be used to characterize pathogen evolution, often with the underlying objective of understanding evolution of virulence. We used experimental evolution techniques (serial transfer experiments) to investigate differential growth and virulence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a fungal pathogen that causes amphibian chytridiomycosis.

A marked decline in the incidence of malaria in a remote region of Malaita, Solomon Islands, 2008 to 2013.

Setting: Atoifi Adventist Hospital (AAH), Solomon Islands, the only hospital in the East Kwaio region.

Objective: To use routine surveillance data to assess the trends in malaria from 2008 to 2013.

Design: Descriptive study of records from (1) AAH laboratory malaria records; (2) admissions to AAH for malaria; and (3) malaria treatments from outpatient records.

Anesthesia of tadpoles of the southern brown tree frog (Litoria ewingii) with isoeugenol (Aqui-S).

Because anesthesia of amphibian larvae is currently problematic, the aim of this study was to test if a fish anesthetic containing approximately 500 g/L isoeugenol (Aqui-S) could anesthetize tadpoles. Three concentrations of Aqui-S were tested (of commercial solution 10, 20, and 50 microl/L) with 10 tadpoles of the southern brown tree frog (Litoria ewingii) per concentration. Tadpoles were anesthetized for 15 min in water at 18-20 degrees C.

Strongyloides stercoralis: systematic review of barriers to controlling strongyloidiasis for Australian indigenous communities.

Background: Strongyloides stercoralis infects human hosts mainly through skin contact with contaminated soil. The result is strongyloidiasis, a parasitic disease, with a unique cycle of auto-infection causing a variety of symptoms and signs, with possible fatality from hyper-infection. Australian Indigenous community members, often living in rural and remote settings, are exposed to and infected with S.

Management of the slowly emerging zoonosis, Hendra virus, by private veterinarians in Queensland, Australia: a qualitative study.

Background: Veterinary infection control for the management of Hendra virus (HeV), an emerging zoonosis in Australia, remained suboptimal until 2010 despite 71.4% (5/7) of humans infected with HeV being veterinary personnel or assisting a veterinarian, three of whom died before 2009. The aim of this study was to identify the perceived barriers to veterinary infection control and HeV management in private veterinary practice in Queensland, where the majority of HeV outbreaks have occurred in Australia.