Prevalence and correlates of psychological distress in a large and diverse public sector workforce: baseline results from Partnering Healthy@Work.

Background: Depressive and anxiety disorders are common among working adults and costly to employers and individuals. Mental health screening is often an important initial strategy, but the resultant data are often of unknown representativeness and difficult to interpret. In a public sector workforce, this study used a brief screener for depression/anxiety to: a) compare prevalence of high psychological distress obtained from a researcher survey with an employer survey and population norms and b) verify whether expected correlates were observed in a screening setting.

Improved iodine status in Tasmanian schoolchildren after fortification of bread: a recipe for national success.

Objectives: To examine population iodine status in Tasmania after mandatory iodine fortification of bread and assess the magnitude of difference compared with results from a period of voluntary iodine fortification.

Design And Setting: A cross-sectional urinary iodine survey of schoolchildren from classes that included fourth-grade students was conducted in Tasmania in 2011. Results were compared with surveys conducted before fortification and during a period of voluntary fortification.

Folate status and socio-demographic predictors of folate status, among a national cohort of women aged 26-36 in Australia, 2004-2006.

Objective: To describe serum folate status and the socio-demographic correlates of serum folate status in a national sample of women aged 26-36 years in Australia, 2004-2006.

Methods: Stored serum samples from 1,046 women, collected as part of the Childhood Determinants of Adult Health study, were analysed for serum folate.

Results: Median (IQR) serum folate was 27.

A case for universal salt iodisation to correct iodine deficiency in pregnancy: another salutary lesson from Tasmania.

Objective: To assess the impact of iodine fortification of bread on the iodine status of pregnant women, and to determine if studies of iodine levels in school-age children were indicative of women's gestational iodine status.

Design: Urinary iodine surveys of pregnant Tasmanian women before and after bread was fortified with iodine in October 2001.

Participants And Setting: 285 women attending the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) antenatal clinic from 1 October 2000 to 30 September 2001 and 517 women attending the RHH antenatal clinic or primary health care centres in 2003-2006.

Iodine status of Tasmanians following voluntary fortification of bread with iodine.

Objective: To describe changes in the iodine status of Tasmanians following voluntary fortification of bread with iodine in October 2001.

Design And Setting: Post-intervention, cross-sectional urinary iodine surveys of Tasmanian schoolchildren aged 8-11 years were used to assess population iodine status. Participants were selected using a one-stage cluster sampling method.

Meningococcal vaccine failure in conjunction with an unusual meningococcal cluster in southern Tasmania.

The following is a report of an unusual family cluster of group C invasive meningococcal disease in Tasmania. This unusual case cluster raises several important issues of public health significance regarding vaccine failure and nucleic acid amplification testing use in the setting of invasive meningococcal disease.

A multi-jurisdictional outbreak of hepatitis A related to a youth camp--implications for catering operations and mass gatherings.

In June 2003, Australian state and territory health departments were notified of an outbreak of Hepatitis A in people who had attended a five-day youth camp. Approximately 350 people attended the event in Central Australia between 24 and 28 April 2003. The public health investigation comprised of case identification, food handler interviews, an environmental health investigation of the campground and associated food premises, laboratory analysis of blood specimens and food/water samples, and an epidemiological study.

Public health surveillance for Australian bat lyssavirus in Queensland, Australia, 2000-2001.

From February 1, 2000, to December 4, 2001, a total of 119 bats (85 Megachiroptera and 34 Microchiroptera) were tested for Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) infection. Eight Megachiroptera were positive by immunofluorescence assay that used cross-reactive ntibodies to rabies nucleocapsid protein. A case study of cross-species transmission of ABLV supports the conclusion that a bat reservoir exists for ABLV in which the virus circulates across Megachiroptera species within mixed communities.