Publications by authors named "Smoll N"
Measles secondary vaccine failure in a childcare setting: an outbreak report.
Commun Dis Intell (2018)
November 2024
Article Synopsis
- The Sunshine Coast Public Health Unit confirmed a measles case involving a childcare educator who had secondary vaccine failure after exposure to an infected person in a hospital.
- Control measures like contact tracing and quarantine were applied, identifying 72 susceptible infants and children among 372 contacts.
- No further transmission occurred from the educator, indicating that secondary vaccine failure cases pose a lower risk of spreading measles compared to those who are unvaccinated.
Article Synopsis
- The deployment of a public health rapid response team (PHRRT) in Central Queensland during COVID-19 outbreaks in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) led to improved management and outcomes.
- The existing vaccine surveillance framework helped promptly identify symptomatic residents, triggering timely interventions from the PHRRT.
- Following the PHRRT's involvement, there were significantly fewer hospital admissions and deaths, highlighting the importance of effective communication and resource optimization in protecting vulnerable elderly populations.
Article Synopsis
- The study evaluated the preparedness for and public health responses to the first two COVID-19 waves in six remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Queensland.
- Vaccination coverage varied before the first outbreak, with first doses ranging from 59% to 84% and second doses from 39% to 76%.
- During the study, 2,624 COVID-19 cases were reported, with attack rates differing across communities and only a small number resulting in hospitalization or death.
Onward Virus Transmission after Measles Secondary Vaccination Failure.
Emerg Infect Dis
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- Measles cases in individuals with secondary vaccination failure (SVF) are less infectious compared to unvaccinated individuals, according to a systematic review.
- The review analyzed 14 studies involving over 3,030 people exposed to measles from SVF cases, revealing a low secondary attack rate of 0%-6.25%.
- Only 10.09% of SVF cases transmitted the virus, suggesting that in outbreak situations, public health efforts should focus more on unvaccinated individuals than those with SVF.
Article Synopsis
- Noroviruses are a common cause of stomach illnesses, especially in kids, but not much is known about how they spread in childcare centers and among families.
- In May 2021, an investigation looked at a norovirus outbreak in a childcare facility in Central Queensland, where 41 people got sick, mostly young children.
- The study found that young kids are at high risk, and it suggests keeping healthy family members away from childcare centers to help stop the virus from spreading.
Epidemiology of respiratory syncytial virus in Central Queensland, Australia.
Commun Dis Intell (2018)
June 2024
Article Synopsis
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory illnesses like bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants, with a focus on its impact in Central Queensland, Australia, from July 2021 to December 2022.
- During this period, there were 1,142 confirmed RSV cases, leading to 169 hospital admissions, including 12 requiring intensive care, and resulting in 2 deaths; children under 5 were the most affected group.
- Notably, Indigenous children under 5 years were disproportionately represented, with high rates of hospital admissions and antibiotic prescriptions, despite a low incidence of confirmed bacterial infections.
Objective: The 2022 Australian winter was the first time that COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) were circulating in the population together, after two winters of physical distancing, quarantine and borders closed to international travellers. We developed a novel surveillance system to estimate the incidence of COVID-19, influenza and RSV in three regions of Queensland, Australia.
Design: We implemented a longitudinal testing-based sentinel surveillance programme.
Background: The 'PenCS Flu Topbar' app was deployed in Central Queensland (CQ), Australia, medical practices through a pilot programme in March 2021.
Methods: We evaluated the app's user experience and examined whether the introduction of 'PenCS Flu Topbar' in medical practices could improve the coverage of NIP-funded influenza vaccinations. We conducted a mixed-method study including a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with key end-users and a quantitative analysis of influenza vaccine administrative data.
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on understanding COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care facilities (ACFs) after vaccines were rolled out, particularly analyzing vaccine effectiveness (VE) among this vulnerable group.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of 38 articles from 12 countries revealed a 28% attack rate among fully vaccinated residents, with unvaccinated healthcare workers often being the source of outbreaks.
- Vaccinated residents experienced significantly lower mortality rates (2% vs. 12%) and the study emphasized the importance of vaccination as a critical public health strategy to reduce COVID-19 impacts in crowded ACFs.
Background And Objectives: Burr hole trepanation to evacuate chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH) results in bony skull defects that can lead to skin depressions. We intend to study the effect of burr hole covers to prevent skin depressions and improve the esthetic result.
Methods: In a randomized trial, we enrolled adult patients with symptomatic cSDH.
Article Synopsis
- An outbreak of food poisoning occurred on 9 December 2021 among sailors on a bulk carrier traveling from Japan to Australia, with 19 of 20 crew members exhibiting gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms.
- The sailors had consumed barracuda and squid prepared by the ship's cook the previous day, leading to an investigation by the Central Queensland Public Health Unit.
- Testing confirmed the presence of ciguatoxins in the barracuda, supporting the proposed link between specific symptoms and the early detection of ciguatera poisoning.
Background: Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans is an emerging zoonosis globally, causing both cutaneous and respiratory diphtheria-like illness. In Queensland, human infection with toxigenic C. ulcerans is rare, with only three cases reported before October 2015.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To estimate the effectiveness of vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) for protecting people in a largely coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-naïve regional population from hospitalisation with symptomatic COVID-19.
Design: Retrospective cohort study; analysis of positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results linked with Central Queensland hospitals admissions data and Australian Immunisation Register data.
Setting, Participants: Adult residents of Central Queensland, 1 January - 31 March 2022.
Article Synopsis
- Immunisation helps protect kids from diseases, but many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under two miss their shots compared to non-Indigenous kids.
- Researchers tested if sending SMS reminders to parents would help make sure these children get their vaccinations on time.
- The results showed that sending reminders worked well for most age milestones, with more kids getting vaccinated on time, except at 12 months old.
Article Synopsis
- Infectious diseases pose a significant threat to residents of residential aged care facilities (RACFs), highlighting the need for improved surveillance and understanding of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) in these populations.
- This study aims to implement an active enhanced surveillance system in RACFs in Central Queensland to gather data on the burden of VPDs, their causes, risk factors, and effectiveness of vaccines currently provided under the National Immunization Program.
- Ethical approval has been granted for this research, allowing for the collection of non-identifiable data to ensure participant privacy while aiming to inform public health strategies and improve outcomes in vulnerable groups.
Background: Computed tomography (CT) scans make substantial contributions to low-dose ionizing radiation exposures, raising concerns about excess cancers caused by diagnostic radiation.
Methods: Deidentified medicare records for all Australians aged 0-19 years between 1985-2005 were linked to national death and cancer registrations to 2012. The National Cancer Institute CT program was used to estimate radiation doses to the brain from CT exposures in 1985-2005, Poisson regression was used to model the dependence of brain cancer incidence on brain radiation dose, which lagged by 2 years to minimize reverse causation bias.
Background: With the reduction in access to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing and changes in testing guidelines in Australia, a reduced number of people are seeking testing for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), limiting the opportunity to monitor disease transmission. Knowledge of community transmission of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses is essential to better predict subsequent surges in cases during the pandemic to alert health services, protect vulnerable populations and enhance public health measures. We describe a methodology for a testing-based sentinel surveillance program to monitor disease in the community for early signal detection of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn August 2021, there was an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant on an international liquified natural gas (LNG) vessel offshore to Gladstone, Queensland. Fourteen of the 26 crew members aboard the vessel tested positive for SARS-COV-2 on PCR during the outbreak. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 52% for all lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, 65% for symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and 100% for severe SARS-CoV-2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Behavioural and social drivers (BeSD) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine acceptance among Australian healthcare workers (HCW) living and working in regional areas are not well studied. Understanding local HCWs' COVID-19 risk perceptions and potential barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake is crucial in supporting rollout. We aimed to understand the COVID-19 vaccine drivers among HCW in Central Queensland (CQ), Australia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIssue Addressed: The "10,000 Lives" initiative was launched in Central Queensland in November 2017 to reduce daily smoking prevalence to 9.5% by 2030 by promoting available smoking cessation interventions. One of the main strategies was to identify and engage possible stakeholders (local champions for the program) from hospitals and community organisations to increase conversations about smoking cessation and referrals to Quitline.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In recent years, there have been ongoing outbreaks of mumps reported in Northern and North-Western Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Australia. We aimed to define the epidemiology of mumps outbreaks in Central Queensland, Australia between October 2017 and October 2018 and evaluate the effectiveness of an additional dose of measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Methods: A retrospective case control study was conducted, including outbreak investigations with laboratory-confirmed cases of mumps and subsequent comparison with matched controls.
There is a large burden of norovirus disease in child-care centers in Australia and around the world. Despite the ubiquity of norovirus outbreaks in child-care centers, little is known about the extent of this burden within the child-care center and the surrounding household clusters. Therefore, we performed an in-depth analysis of a gastroenteritis outbreak to examine the patterns of transmissions, household attack rates and the basic reproduction number (R0) for Norovirus in a child-care facility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective(s): To describe an autochthonous dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) outbreak in Central Queensland from May 2019 and subsequent public health actions.
Design And Setting: Public health outbreak investigation of locally acquired DENV-2 cases in Rockhampton, Central Queensland. This included laboratory investigations, associated mosquito vector surveillance, and control measures implemented in response to the outbreak.
Importance: During pandemics Agent Based Models (ABMs) can model complex, fine-grained behavioural interactions occurring in social networks, that contribute to disease transmission by novel viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.
Objective: We present a new agent-based model (ABM) called the Discrete-Event, Simulated Social Agent based Network Transmission model (DESSABNeT) and demonstrate its ability to model the spread of COVID-19 in large cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast. Our aim was to validate the model with its disease dynamics and underlying social network.