ObjectiveTo describe the clinical features and disability associated with Barmah Forest virus (BFV) infection.
DesignRetrospective postal survey.
SettingNorth Coast Public Health Unit, Lismore, New South Wales, January to October 1995.
SubjectsAll 84 subjects notified by mandatory laboratory reporting as positive for BFV lgM by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.
Outcome measuresDemographic information, self‐reported symptoms, disability and treatment.
ResultsResponse rate was 77%. Peak incidence was in the 30‐50 years age group, with almost identical numbers of men and women affected. The most common symptoms were lethargy (89%), joint pain (82%) and rash (68%). These were also generally the first symptoms to appear. Thirty of 54 respondents (56%) reported time off work and 27 of 53 (51%) reported illness lasting more than six months. Those who had a rash were significantly more likely to have recovered by the time of the survey than those who had no rash (odds ratio, 10.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.8‐76.6). No treatment led to more than slight relief of symptoms.
ConclusionSymptoms of BFV infection appear similar to those of the better‐known Ross River virus infection, and clinicians should consider both in patients with symptoms of arboviral disease. The wide distribution and long duration of illness make BFV a potentially significant cause of morbidity in Australia. A possible association between the presence of a rash and improved prognosis needs further investigation.
Objective: The objective of the study was to explore the impact of implementation of the Public Health Amendment (Vaccination of Children Attending Child Care Facilities) Act 2013 on child-care centres in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales (NSW), from the perspective of child-care centre directors.
Importance of study:Immunisation is an effective public health intervention, but more than 75 000 Australian children are not fully vaccinated. A recent amendment to the NSW Public Health Act 2010 asks child-care facilities to collect evidence of complete vaccination or approved exemption before allowing enrolment.
Methods:Ten child-care centre directors participated in a semiscripted interview. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed.Results: Common themes included misinterpretation of the amendment before implementation, the importance of adequate notice for implementation, lack of understanding of assessment of compliance, increased administrative requirements, the importance of other public health efforts, and limited change in vaccination rates. Child-care centres differed in their experience of the resources provided by the government, interactions with Medicare, and ease of integration with existing record-keeping methods.
records held by the Community Health Information Management Enterprise (CHIME), the principal inpatient database, were often inaccurate and did not reflect community knowledge. Consequently, this prompted the systematic comparison of recorded Aboriginal identification in two datasets, CHIME and ObstetriX. 2 Methods The recorded identification of Aboriginal infants in two health service datasets was compared over a 3-month period, August-October 2010. Data from the NSW Health ObstetriX database were compared to the birth notification data available from the CHIME. • Has your child had chickenpox (the disease)? If yes, at what age did they have chickenpox?
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