Geospatial mapping of drug-resistant tuberculosis prevalence in Africa at national and sub-national levels.

Objective: To map subnational and local prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) across Africa.

Methods: We assembled a geolocated dataset from 173 sources across 31 African countries, comprising drug susceptibility test results and covariate data from publicly available databases. We used Bayesian model-based geostatistical framework with multivariate Bayesian logistic regression model to estimate DR-TB prevalence at lower administrative levels.

The effects of variable spatial aggregation on lymphatic filariasis transmission.

Background: Elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a World Health Organization goal, with several countries at or near prevalence thresholds. Where LF cases remain after mass drug administration, they tend to be spatially clustered, with an overdispersed individual worm burden. Both individual and spatial heterogeneities can cause aggregation of infection; however, few studies have investigated the drivers of heterogeneity and implications for disease elimination.

Factors influencing women's and men's place of birth decisions in rural Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea: A qualitative descriptive study.

Background: Evidence shows that birthing with a skilled birth provider improves maternal and neonatal health outcomes. However, whilst most women in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea seek skilled health care during pregnancy in a health facility, more than half give birth at home or in the village without a skilled birth provider.

Aim: To explore the factors influencing women's and men's decisions about place of birth in rural Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea.

Priorities for research on improving health behaviours for optimal mental health of Australian university students: A twin-panel Delphi study.

Issue Addressed: University students are at risk of poor health behaviours which negatively affect mental health and wellbeing. Informing the implementation of appropriate strategies to support Australian university students' health and wellbeing, requires quality evidence. This study aimed to identify research priorities for improving health behaviours to optimise mental health of Australian university students.

The invisible enemy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of maternal smokeless tobacco use as a risk factor for low birth weight.

Introduction: Smokeless tobacco use is a growing public health concern, with potential adverse implications for foetal outcomes if consumed during pregnancy. Birth weight is an important predictive measure for health outcomes of a child throughout their lifespan. Despite extensive literature, it is unclear whether smokeless tobacco consumption during pregnancy has an adverse effect on birth weight.

Detection and Characterisation of Colistin-Resistant in Broiler Meats.

The irrational use of antimicrobials has led to the emergence of resistance, impacting not only pathogenic bacteria but also commensal bacteria. Resistance against colistin, a last-resort antibiotic, mediated by globally disseminated plasmid-borne mobile colistin resistance () genes, has raised significant global concerns. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance patterns of colistin-resistant () and mobilised colistin resistance ( 1-5) genes from broiler meat.

Elevations in D-dimer levels in patients with Plasmodium infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

D-dimer, a byproduct of cross-linked fibrin degradation, arises during the fibrinolysis process, breaking down blood clots in circulation. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize evidence of D-dimer alteration in people with malaria, including variations in disease severity. The systematic review was registered in PROSPERO with registration number CRD42024528245.

Sex, gender identity and women's health research and equality: An urgent need for clarity of language and accurate data collection.

Background: With the rise in salience of the concept of gender identity, changes are being made to language and data collection with major implications for women's health research and equality. Specifically, language referring to women is being desexed and data collection on sex diminishing. In 2023, Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) undertook public consultations on two draft guidance documents discussing use of the words 'woman'/'women' when describing the involvement of pregnant women in research, and sex and gender identity data collection.

Gender-based violence among women and girls in conflict-affected areas of Northeast Amhara, Ethiopia.

Background: Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is one of the major problems that women and girls encountered during the conflict between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). However, there is a gap in evidence regarding gender-based violence resulting from the ongoing conflict in these areas. Therefore, this study assessed the prevalence of GBV and its contributing factors in the conflict-affected northeastern Amhara region of Ethiopia.

Eradication of commercial tobacco related disease and death.

The eradication of the commercial tobacco industry is a crucial goal for health and well-being, particularly from a public health and health justice perspective. The term 'eradication' is applied in epidemiology to mean the process and outcome of elimination of the-commercial tobacco industry as a human-made-agent of disease and death. In this commentary, we outline why the eradication of the tobacco industry is necessary, urgent and realistic.

Web-Based Passive Surveillance: Multifactorial Assessment of Sonali Chicken Diseases and Antimicrobial Prescription Pattern in Bangladesh.

Despite the significant growth in Sonali chicken production across Bangladesh, inadequate disease surveillance and control measures along with indiscriminate antimicrobial use remain major challenges to the sector. In this study, we evaluated the disease burden and antimicrobial prescription patterns of Sonali chickens in Bangladesh using a web-based data recording system from 2020 to 2021 and analyzed 1690 cases. The diagnoses recorded in the system were presumptive, as they were based on clinico-epidemiological history, clinical signs, and gross necropsy findings noted by registered veterinarians.

From Paper to Digital: Performance and Challenges of the Electronic Hepatitis B Surveillance System in Ninh Binh, Northern Vietnam (2017-2022).

Hepatitis B remains a major public health issue in Vietnam. Mandatory reporting to the national electronic communicable disease surveillance system (eCDS) has been required since July 2016. We conducted an evaluation of the hepatitis B surveillance system in Ninh Binh, the province with the highest reported burden of hepatitis B in Northern Vietnam, between 2017 and 2022.

Factors associated with not smoking among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adolescents and young people: Analysis of data from the 2014 to 15 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey.

Issue Addressed: Smoking rates have been steadily declining among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Examining the factors associated with not smoking in young people is crucial for understanding the motivations and influences that lead individuals to adopt healthy behaviours.

Methods: Secondary analysis was undertaken of data collected as part of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) 2014-15 (n = 1456).

Shifts in seasonal influenza patterns in Australia during and after COVID-19: A comprehensive analysis.

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, seasonal influenza virus circulation was heavily suppressed worldwide. In Australia, since the virus re-emerged in 2022, shifts in seasonal influenza patterns have been observed. Both the 2022 and 2023 seasons started earlier than pre-pandemic norms and were categorised as moderate to severe, highlighting the renewed importance of prevention strategies for seasonal influenza.

Trends of socioeconomic and geographic inequalities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Ethiopia: using the WHO Health Equity Assessment Toolkit.

Background: Equity in COVID-19 vaccine uptake is the heart of managing the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 disease. However, the evidence of inequality in COVID-19 vaccination in Ethiopia is limited. Therefore, this study investigated the trends of socioeconomic and geographic inequality of COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Ethiopia.

Grand (meta) challenges in planetary health: environmental, social, and cognitive.

The term "planetary health", coined in the 1970s, arose from planetary consciousness, stimulated in part by the dawn of the space age, and commensurate recognition that our species faces extraordinary obstacles ("limits to growth") if it is to fulfil its promise. While such awareness was then widely suppressed, awareness is reviving, driven by the now obvious perils, not only of climate change but also from weaponization and national aggression. Our neoliberal society (including in academic circles) has inappropriately rewarded articles and researchers that are biased toward optimism.

Clinical outcomes and severity of laboratory-confirmed RSV compared with influenza, parainfluenza and human metapneumovirus in Australian children attending secondary care.

Introduction: Acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) are a major contributor to the global infectious disease burden and a common cause of hospitalisation for children under 2 years. We compared clinical severity in children hospitalised with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and influenza virus (IFV).

Methods: We used a probabilistically linked population cohort born in Western Australia between 2010 and 2020 and hospitalised before the age of 2 years.

Risk treatment thresholds for initiating cardiovascular disease pharmacotherapy: Synthesis of international evidence to support guideline recommendations.

Background: A new Australian guideline for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment and management was published in 2023, including new risk treatment thresholds.

Objective: This article summarises the published peer-reviewed global evidence that informed guideline recommendations on risk treatment thresholds for initiating blood pressure- and lipid-lowering therapy for CVD primary prevention.

Discussion: Evidence from 13 meta-analyses, randomised controlled trials and modelling studies involving more than 515,700 patients showed that preventive pharmacotherapy reduced the number of CVD events at all risk levels.

Glucocorticoid dosing and implications for vaccination: Evolution of global definitions.

Despite widespread adoption of "high-dose" glucocorticoid definitions across international immunisation guidelines (i.e., prednisone-equivalent dosing >20 mg/day, or >2 mg/kg/day in children), the rationale remains unclear.

Is Respiratory Viral Infection an Inciting Event in the Development of Melioidosis? A Systematic Evaluation of Co-infection With and SARS-CoV-2 or Influenza.

Respiratory viral infection may increase infection with progressing to clinical disease (melioidosis). This data linkage study evaluated associations between melioidosis and SARS-CoV-2 or influenza. Among 160 melioidosis cases, there was no difference in risk factors, vaccine status, or disease severity between 17 with viral co-infection and 143 without.