Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Vaccination Coverage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, Australia, 2011–2015

Abstract

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Influenza-associated hospitalisation and mortality rates among global Indigenous populations; a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Of the included studies, 21 (58%) had extractable data only for influenza-associated hospitalisation [ 14 – 18 , 22 , 23 , 31 , 33 , 34 , 38 – 44 , 46 – 49 ] and five (14%) had extractable data only for influenza-associated mortality [ 21 , 29 , 30 , 35 , 36 ]. There were 10 studies (28%) with extractable data for both hospitalisation and mortality [ 19 , 20 , 24 – 28 , 32 , 37 , 45 ]. Nearly three quarters of included studies (n = 26, 72%) analysed hospitalisations and/or deaths during the 2009pH1N1 [ 17 – 20 , 25 – 27 , 29 – 33 , 35 – 41 , 44 – 49 ], while seven (19%) analysed hospitalisations and/or deaths from seasonal influenza [ 14 , 15 , 22 , 23 , 34 , 42 , 43 ] and four (11%) covered both seasonal and pandemic periods [ 16 , 21 , 24 , 28 ].…”

Induction therapy and outcome of proliferative lupus nephritis in the top end of Northern Australia – a single centre study retrospective study

“…The higher incidence of infection observed in our study may have led to the lower cumulative dose of mycophenolate prescribed to Indigenous Australian patients, whether deliberate or reactionary. Elevated existing background risk of infection including pneumococcal disease [ 28 ], group A Streptococcus infection [ 29 ], strongyloidiasis [ 30 ], and tuberculosis [ 31 ] in Indigenous Australians are known and documented in literature [ 32 ]. The incidence of Acute Rheumatic Fever in Indigenous Australians is near a hundred times that of non-Indigenous Australians [ 33 ].…”

Vaccine success and challenges in northern Australia

“…Ongoing monitoring of vaccine-preventable disease burden and vaccination coverage, is essential to address existing and emerging health disparities, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in northern Australia. 10 Working in partnership with Aboriginal people to understand the drivers of vaccine hesitancy in each region and to deliver culturally appropriate education about vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases, is critical for the successful participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in vaccination programs. 29…”

“…9 For the 2014 Northern Territory birth cohort, 83.2% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children compared with 90.6% of non-Aboriginal children, had received a complete two-dose course of rotavirus vaccine by age 12 months. 10 This underscores the importance of public health and primary health care activities to enhance vaccine timeliness in early childhood.…”