High burden of infectious disease and antibiotic use in early life in Australian Aboriginal communities.
| dc.contributor.author | Cuningham W. | |
| dc.contributor.author | McVernon J. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Lydeamore M.J. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Andrews R.M. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Carapetis J. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Kearns T. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Clucas D. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Dhurrkay R.G. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Tong S.Y.C. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Campbell P.T. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-11-19T05:30:03Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-11-19T05:30:03Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2019 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019-02-14 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Objective: To quantify the childhood infectious disease burden and antibiotic use in the Northern Territory's East Arnhem region through synthesis and analysis of historical data resources. Method(s): We combined primary health clinic data originally reported in three separate publications stemming from the East Arnhem Healthy Skin Project (Jan-01 to Sep-07). Common statistical techniques were used to explore the prevalence of infectious conditions and the seasonality of infections, and to measure rates of antibiotic use. Result(s): There was a high monthly prevalence of respiratory (mean: 32% [95% confidence interval (CI): 20%, 34%]) and skin (mean: 20% [95%CI: 19%, 22%]) infectious syndromes, with upper respiratory tract infections (mean: 29% [95%CI: 27%, 31%]) and skin sores (mean: 15% [95%CI: 14%, 17%]) the most common conditions. Antibiotics were frequently prescribed with 95% (95%CI: 91%, 97%) of children having received at least one antibiotic prescription by their first birthday, and 47% having received six antibiotic prescriptions; skin sores being a key driver. Conclusion(s): Early life infections drive high antibiotic prescribing rates in remote Aboriginal communities. Implications for public health: Eliminating skin disease could reduce antibiotic use by almost 20% in children under five years of age in this population. Copyright © 2019 The Authors | |
| dc.description.grant | The authors acknowledge the Lowitja Institute and the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health who originally funded and lent significant support to the EAHSP. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. Vol.43(2), 2019, pp. 149-155. | |
| dc.identifier.doi | https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12876 | |
| dc.identifier.institution | (Cuningham, McVernon, Campbell) Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The Royal Melbourne Hospital and The University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia | |
| dc.identifier.institution | (Cuningham, Andrews, Kearns, Dhurrkay, Tong) Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University, NT, Australia | |
| dc.identifier.institution | (McVernon) Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia | |
| dc.identifier.institution | (Lydeamore) School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia | |
| dc.identifier.institution | (Lydeamore, Campbell) Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, VIC, Australia | |
| dc.identifier.institution | (Andrews) National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, ACT, Australia | |
| dc.identifier.institution | (Carapetis) Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia and Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Australia | |
| dc.identifier.institution | (Clucas) Clinical Haematology, The Alfred Hospital and Monash Medical Centre, VIC, Australia | |
| dc.identifier.institution | (Tong) Victorian Infectious Diseases Service, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Doherty Department University of Melbourne, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, VIC, Australia | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://lowitja.intersearch.com.au/handle/1/624 | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health | |
| dc.subject.keywords | Rural and remote health | |
| dc.subject.keywords | Infectious diseases | |
| dc.subject.keywords | Paediatrics | |
| dc.title | High burden of infectious disease and antibiotic use in early life in Australian Aboriginal communities. | |
| dc.type | Article | |
| dc.type.studyortrial | Observational study (cohort, case-control, cross sectional, or survey) |