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Abstract Objective: To test the hypothesis that a culturally tailored sugar‐sweetened beverage (SSB) campaign designed specifically for the Victorian Aboriginal community will not only be valuable for Aboriginal Victorians but will also have cross‐over benefits for non‐Aboriginal Victorians. Methods: An online survey was completed by 155 Victorians (78 Aboriginal, 77 non‐Aboriginal) four months after the Aboriginal Rethink Sugary Drink (RSD) advertisement was launched. Differences between Aboriginal and non‐Aboriginal respondents were assessed using χ2 and Wilcoxon rank‐sum tests. Results: Seventy‐six per cent of Aboriginal respondents recalled seeing the advertisement compared to 56% of non‐Aboriginal respondents (p

Abstract Objective: To measure progress towards Australia's National Hepatitis B Strategy 2014–17 targets, and assess geographic variation in disease burden and access to care for those living with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods: Data were generated from routinely collected sources, including risk‐group prevalence and population data, infectious diseases notifications, Medicare records, and immunisation registry data, and assessed nationally and according to geographic area for 2013–15. Results: CHB prevalence in 2015 was 239,167 (1.0%), with 62% of those affected having been diagnosed (target 80%). Treatment uptake was 6.1% (target 15%), and only 15.3% of people with CHB received guideline‐based care. CHB prevalence ranged within Australia's 31 Primary Health Networks (PHNs) from 1.77% (NT) to 0.56% (Grampians & Barwon South West VIC). No PHN reached the 15% treatment target, with uptake highest in South Western Sydney (13.7%). Immunisation coverage reached the 95% target in three PHNs. Conclusions: The CHB burden in Australia is significant and highly geographically focused, with notable disparities in access to care across Australia. Implications for public health: Efforts to improve progress toward National Strategy targets should focus on priority areas where the prevalence of CHB is substantial but access to treatment and care remains low.

BackgroundWe characterise the clinical features and household transmission of pandemic influenza A (pH1N1) in community cases from Victoria, Australia in 2009.MethodsQuestionnaires were used to collect information on epidemiological characteristics, illness features and co-morbidities of cases identified in the 2009 Victorian Influenza Sentinel Surveillance program.ResultsThe median age of 132 index cases was 21 years, of whom 54 (41%) were under 18 years old and 28 (21%) had medical co-morbidities. The median symptom duration was significantly shorter for children who received antivirals than in those who did not (p = 0.03). Assumed influenza transmission was observed in 63 (51%) households. Influenza-like illness (ILI) developed in 115 of 351 household contacts, a crude secondary attack rate of 33%. Increased ILI rates were seen in households with larger numbers of children but not larger numbers of adults. Multivariate analysis indicated contacts of cases with cough and diarrhoea, and contacts in quarantined households were significantly more likely to develop influenza-like symptoms.ConclusionMost cases of pH1N1 in our study were mild with similar clinical characteristics to seasonal influenza. Illness and case features relating to virus excretion, age and household quarantine may have influenced secondary ILI rates within households.

Linked to extreme rates of chronic heart and kidney disease, pyoderma is endemic amongst Aboriginal children in Australia's Northern Territory (NT). Many of those with pyoderma will also have scabies. We report the results of a community-based collaboration within the East Arnhem Region, which aimed to reduce the prevalence of both skin infections in Aboriginal children.Commencing September 2004, we conducted an ecological study that included active surveillance for skin infections amongst children aged

BackgroundInfluenza vaccines are reviewed each year, and often changed, in an effort to maintain their effectiveness against drifted influenza viruses. There is however no regular review of influenza vaccine effectiveness during, or at the end of, Australian influenza seasons. It is possible to use a case control method to estimate vaccine effectiveness from surveillance data when all patients in a surveillance system are tested for influenza and their vaccination status is known.Methodology/principal findingsInfluenza-like illness (ILI) surveillance is conducted during the influenza season in sentinel general practices scattered throughout Victoria, Australia. Over five seasons 2003-7, data on age, sex and vaccination status were collected and nose and throat swabs were offered to patients presenting within three days of the onset of their symptoms. Swabs were tested using a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test. Those positive for influenza were sent to the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza where influenza virus culture and strain identification was attempted. We used a retrospective case control design in five consecutive influenza seasons, and estimated influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) for patients of all ages to be 53% (95% CI 38-64), but 41% (95% CI 19-57) adjusted for age group and year. The adjusted VE for all adults aged at least 20 years, the age groups for whom a benefit of vaccination could be shown, was 51% (95% CI 34-63). Comparison of VE estimates with vaccine and circulating strain matches across the years did not reveal any significant differences.Conclusions/significanceThese estimates support other field studies of influenza vaccine effectiveness, given that theoretical considerations suggest that these values may underestimate true effectiveness, depending on test specificity and the ratio of the influenza ILI attack rate to the non-influenza ILI attack rate. Incomplete recording of vaccination status and under-representation of children in patients from whom a swab was collected limit the data. Improvements have been implemented for prospective studies.