Australian Aboriginal children have higher hospitalization rates for otitis media but lower surgical procedures than non-Aboriginal children: A record linkage population-based cohort study.

Introduction: Otitis media (OM) is one of the most common infectious diseases affecting children globally and the most common reason for antibiotic prescription and paediatric surgery. Australian Aboriginal children have higher rates of OM than non-Aboriginal children; however, there are no data comparing OM hospitalization rates between them at the population level. We report temporal trends for OM hospitalizations and in-hospital tympanostomy tube insertion (TTI) in a cohort of 469,589 Western Australian children born between 1996 and 2012.

A protracted mumps outbreak in Western Australia despite high vaccine coverage: a population-based surveillance study.

Background: In 2007-08, a genotype J mumps outbreak occurred among Aboriginal people in northern Western Australia, despite high vaccine coverage. In March, 2015, a second protracted mumps outbreak occurred in northern Western Australia and spread widely across rural areas of the state. This time the outbreak was caused by a genotype G virus and again primarily affected Aboriginal people.

From plague to MERS: coordinating Australia's response to emerging infectious diseases.

Rapid international travel times and the arrival of new and unexpected infectious disease threats have demonstrated that, for effective communicable disease control, Australia's response needs to be flexible and coordinated. This paper summarises how our public health and clinical systems would respond to a case of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus and our responsibility under the International Health Regulations to notify the World Health Organization (WHO). It also describes the processes undertaken by WHO when it declares that a disease outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Continuous active surveillance of adverse events following immunisation using SMS technology.

Introduction: On-going post-licensure surveillance of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) is critical to detecting and responding to potentially serious adverse events in a timely manner. SmartVax is a vaccine safety monitoring tool that uses automated data extraction from existing practice management software and short message service (SMS) technology to follow-up vaccinees in real-time. We report on childhood vaccine safety surveillance using SmartVax at a medical practice in Perth, Western Australia.

Low seroprevalence of Murray Valley encephalitis and Kunjin viruses in an opportunistic serosurvey, Victoria 2011.

Objective: To assess evidence of recent and past exposure to Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) and West Nile clade Kunjin virus (KUNV) in residents of the Murray Valley, Victoria, during a period of demonstrated activity of both viruses in early 2011.

Methods: A cross-sectional serosurvey using two convenience samples: stored serum specimens from a diagnostic laboratory in Mildura and blood donors from the Murray Valley region. Specimens were collected between April and July 2011.

Metastases to the breast from nonbreast solid neoplasms: presentation and determinants of survival.

Background: Metastasis to the breast is rare, but it must be considered in the differential diagnosis of a breast mass. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical characteristics and outcomes associated with this entity to identify determinants of survival.

Methods: Between 1983 and 1998, 169 patients were confirmed by pathology to have metastasis to the breast from nonbreast solid organ primary tumors at University of Texas M.

An unusual presentation of locally recurrent breast cancer: a case report.

Recurrent breast carcinoma is usually detected by imaging studies and biopsy. We present a case with unusual clinical presentation and discuss the diagnosis and treatment. While core needle biopsy and fine-needle aspiration are important in the diagnosis of early-stage breast cancer, physical examination and close follow-up are important in the absence of a diagnosis.