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Skin cancer, the most prevalent cancer in Caucasians residing at low latitudes, can primarily be prevented by avoiding overexposure to sunlight. Serial cross‐sectional observations were conducted at an outdoor motorsport event held in Townsville, Queensland each July (Southern winter) to determine whether sun‐protection habits changed over time. Most (71.1%) of the 1337 attendees observed (97.6% lightly pigmented skin, 64.0% male) wore a hat (any style shading the face), while few (18.5%) wore three‐quarter or full‐length sleeves. While hat‐wearing rates (any style) were similar in 2009 (326, 72.6%) and 2013 (625, 70.4%), the use of sun‐protective styles (wide‐brimmed/bucket/legionnaires) decreased from 29.2% to 18.6% over the same period, primarily because the use of sun‐protective hats halved (from 28.7% to 14.0%) among females, while decreasing from 29.4% to 21.1% in males. Although relatively few individuals wore sun‐protective (three‐quarter‐length or full‐length) sleeves regardless of year (OR = 0.117, P < 0.0001), encouragingly, the use of sun‐protective sleeves more than doubled between 2009 (10.5%) and 2013 (22.5%). Interestingly females, albeit the minority, at this sporting event were less likely to wear a hat (OR = 0.473, P < 0.0001) than males. These findings highlight the need for continued momentum toward skin cancer primary prevention through sun protection with a dedicated focus on outdoor sporting settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the economic costs and benefits of water fluoridation in the city of Townsville, Australia. The study has been undertaken in such a way as to overcome the problems associated with hypothetical cohort analysis in the economic analysis of health projects. The method utilised involves analysing the economic effects on the total population subject to water fluoridation, through the systematic disaggregation and valuation of demographic, dental and economic data. The study indicates that significant economic benefits will accrue to the Townsville community through water fluoridation, under a wide range of conditions and assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mahogany Glider (Petaurus gracilis) is one of the most endangered marsupials in Australia. Its known distribution is an approximately 120 km strip of fragmented coastal woodland in north‐east Queensland, from north of Townsville to the Tully area. Records are clustered in a number of well‐surveyed areas, with significant areas of lowland habitat unsurveyed. Around 30% of historic records fall in areas that were subsequently cleared for farmland, and ongoing clearing and fragmentation of lowland sclerophyll forest continues within the potential distribution. Resolving the distribution is an urgent requirement to guide conservation but Mahogany Gliders are difficult to detect in the field. Species distribution modelling offers a technique for estimating the fine‐scale distribution and for targeting further field survey and conservation efforts. We used known occurrence records (N = 481) to predict the distribution of Mahogany Gliders across the Wet Tropics bioregion. We used climatic, topographic and other environmental predictors to generate distribution models using Maxent and Random Forest algorithms, each with two bias correction methods. The predictions revealed that many unknown populations may exist within the currently defined distribution and in important areas beyond this (e.g. Hinchinbrook Island). There was reasonable congruence between models, and we include syntheses of the models to present the most likely current distribution. The most important predictor variables across the models were precipitation seasonality (high seasonality), elevation (generally <100 m), soil type (hydrosols) and vegetation type (including Eucalyptus and Melaleuca woodlands). Our results identify core habitat and reveal key areas that require targeted field surveys. Importantly, the predicted suitable habitat is highly fragmented and ongoing conservation efforts need to improve habitat connectivity and limit further fragmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insecticide susceptibility of a 1995 Townsville Aedes aegypti (L.) population was investigated in the laboratory according to World Health Organization guidelines. Using baseline data from two Townsville populations (1955 and 1989), larval bioassays detected significant increases in susceptibility to synthetic pyrethroids and malathion, and significant reductions in susceptibility to most organophosphates and propoxur. Adult bioassays detected significant resistance to bendiocarb and DDT. Comparison of larval data with the international reference ROCK strain showed substantial resistance to have developed to malathion and fenthion. Further analysis revealed the presence of distinct substrains in the baseline 1989 population, which displayed varying levels of temephos susceptibility. We concluded that susceptibility investigations should assess mosquito populations collected from many sites within an area rather than taking a single population from one site, and that the 1989 Ae. aegypti colony would be unsuitable for use as a susceptible reference population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study that examined patterns of nicotine dependence among pregnant indigenous women in Townsville, Queensland and the usefulness of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). Results revealed that 66.6% of the 302 respondents reported tobacco use on their first antenatal visit, and an FTND conducted among 152 women indicated low levels of nicotine dependence. It concluded that FTND could provide information for designing quit-smoking programs tailored for indigenous urban women.

Background: How climate variability affects the transmission of infectious diseases at a regional level remains unclear. We assess the impact of climate variation on the Ross River virus (RRv) transmission in the Townsville region, Queensland, north-east Australia.Methods: We obtained population-based information on monthly variations in RRv cases, climatic factors, sea level, and population growth between 1985 and 1996. Cross-correlations were computed for a series of associations between climate variables (rainfall, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity and high tide) and the monthly incidence of RRv disease over a range of time lags. We assessed the impact of climate variability on RRv transmission using the seasonal auto-regressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) model.Results: There were significant correlations of the monthly incidence of RRv to rainfall, maximum temperature, minimum temperature and relative humidity, all at a lag of 2 months, and high tide in the current month. The results of SARIMA models show that monthly average rainfall (beta = 0.0007, P = 0.01) and high tide (beta = 0.0089, P = 0.04) were significantly associated with RRv transmission and maximum temperature was also marginally significantly associated with monthly incidence of RRv (beta = 0.0412, P = 0.07), although relative humidity did not seem to have played an important role in the Townsville region.Conclusions: Rainfall, high tide and maximum temperature were likely to be key determinants of RRv transmission in the Townsville region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the prevalence of maternal beliefs about the therapeutic uses of sunlight in infancy in tropical Australia.Methodology: Data were collected by interviewing 114 post-partum patients in Townsville (19 degrees 16'S), Queensland. Each woman was asked a series of open-ended and set-response questions about ancestry, pigmentation, residential history, parity, maternal and paternal education, and beliefs regarding the reputed therapeutic uses of sunlight.Results: Half of the women had at least one risky belief about the perceived benefits of sunning their baby. Thirty-six per cent were in favour of using sunlight to treat neonatal jaundice; 20.2% believed it was necessary to intentionally sun their baby to prevent vitamin D deficiency; and 10.5% thought sunlight was a good remedy for nappy rash. Independent predictors of one or more of these beliefs included maternal age and education level, and having another child that had been treated for jaundice. Forty per cent of multiparous women had sunned a child to treat neonatal jaundice. In most cases, advice to mothers to sun their baby had been given by a midwife/nurse (41% or a doctor/paediatrician (28%).Conclusions: Post-parturient women had a high prevalence of beliefs that may result in their infant being intentionally exposed to sunlight, and which could increase their child's future risk of skin neoplasia. Midwives and doctors, including paediatricians, were identified as the major professional sources of these beliefs. Professional education is needed to change the beliefs of health professionals who recommend therapies involving sunlight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses results of a research study on the effectiveness of killing head lice on brushes and combs by hot water immersion in Townsville, Queensland. Temperature wherein maximum effect was achieved; Absence of any contributing effect of the duration of exposure to hot water on the head lice.