CONSENTED WITH CDU PERMISSION_Nurse and PhD student Gabrielle McCallum examining a baby at Royal Darwin Hospital with acute bronchiolitis
CONSENTED WITH CDU PERMISSION_Nurse and PhD student Gabrielle McCallum examining a baby at Royal Darwin Hospital with acute bronchiolitis

Acute lower respiratory infections in Indigenous infants in the NT

Embargoed until: Publicly released:
Peer-reviewed: This work was reviewed and scrutinised by relevant independent experts.

Observational study: A study in which the subject is observed to see if there is a relationship between two or more things (eg: the consumption of diet drinks and obesity). Observational studies cannot prove that one thing causes another, only that they are linked.

People: This is a study based on research using people.

A recently-published study by Menzies senior research fellow Dr Michael Binks examined acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) hospital admissions among Indigenous infants in the Northern Territory from 2006 to 2015, across three periods of different pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) use. The study suggests future gains would require multifaceted environmental and biomedical approaches.

Journal/conference: Lancet Child & Adolescent Health

Link to research (DOI): 10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30090-0

Organisation/s: Menzies School of Health Research

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

Media release

From: Menzies School of Health Research

Menzies senior research fellow, Dr Michael Binks’ paper, Acute lower respiratory infections in Indigenous infants in Australia's Northern Territory across three eras of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (2006-15): a population-based cohort study was recently published in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

The study examined acute lower respiratory infections (ALRI) hospital admissions among Indigenous infants in the Northern Territory from 2006 to 2015, across three periods of different PCV use.

It found bacterial-coded pneumonia hospitalisations were reduced by 30 per cent during the era of PCV13 immunisation supporting its ongoing use in the region. However, despite the reduction, one in five Indigenous infants born in the region continue to be hospitalised with an ALRI in their first year of life, as was the case 15 years earlier.

In addition, the study found that rates of maternal smoking, gestational diabetes, anaemia, preterm birth, and low birthweight babies remain high with the burden of ALRI hospitalisation highest among those living in remote communities and in Central Australia.

The study suggests future gains would require multifaceted environmental and biomedical approaches.

The full paper can be found here https://bit.ly/3gjrOMe

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    Dr Michael Binks

    Lead researcher Dr Michael Binks from the Menzies School of Health Research.

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    Attribution: Michael Binks / Menzies School of Health Research

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    Last modified: 16 Jun 2020 6:02pm

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