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Research

Safety and Immunogenicity of Early Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine: A phase 2prospective randomised open-label feasibility study (FluBub)

Christopher Peter Blyth Richmond MBBS (Hons) DCH FRACP FRCPA PhD MBBS MRCP(UK) FRACP Centre Head, Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious

Research

among children with pneumonia using a causal Bayesian network

Pneumonia remains a leading cause of hospitalization and death among young children worldwide, and the diagnostic challenge of differentiating bacterial from non-bacterial pneumonia is the main driver of antibiotic use for treating pneumonia in children. Causal Bayesian networks (BNs) serve as powerful tools for this problem as they provide clear maps of probabilistic relationships between variables and produce results in an explainable way by incorporating both domain expert knowledge and numerical data.

Research

Pertussis Disease and Antenatal Vaccine Effectiveness in Australian Children

Population-level studies of severe pertussis extending beyond infancy are sparse, and none in the context of antenatal vaccination. We compared hospitalized pertussis cases from birth to 15 years of age before and after introduction of antenatal immunization.

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COVID-19 vaccination in children and adolescents aged 5 years and older undergoing treatment for cancer and non-malignant haematological conditions: Australian and New Zealand Children’s Haematology/Oncology Group consensus statement

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation and New Zealand Ministry of Health recommend all children aged ≥ 5 years receive either of the two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines: Comirnaty (Pfizer), available in both Australia and New Zealand, or Spikevax (Moderna), available in Australia only. Both vaccines are efficacious and safe in the general population, including children. Children and adolescents undergoing treatment for cancer and immunosuppressive therapy for non-malignant haematological conditions are particularly vulnerable, with an increased risk of severe or fatal COVID-19.

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4CMenB vaccine and its role in preventing transmission and inducing herd immunity

Vaccination is the most effective method of protecting people from invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). Of all the capsular groups, B is the most common cause of invasive meningococcal disease in many parts of the world. Despite this, adolescent meningococcal B vaccine programs have not been implemented globally, partly due to the lack of evidence for herd immunity afforded by meningococcal B vaccines.

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The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies in Australian children: A crosssectional study

Following reduction of public health and social measures concurrent with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron emergence in late 2021 in Australia, COVID-19 case notification rates rose rapidly. As rates of direct viral testing and reporting dropped, true infection rates were most likely to be underestimated.

Research

DNA Methylation signatures underpinning blood neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio during first week of human life

Understanding of newborn immune ontogeny in the first week of life will enable age-appropriate strategies for safeguarding vulnerable newborns against infectious diseases. Here we conducted an observational study exploring the immunological profile of infants longitudinally throughout their first week of life. 

Research

Antecedent and persistent symptoms in COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses: Insights from prospectively collected data in the BRACE trial

Some individuals have a persistence of symptoms following both COVID-19 (post-acute COVID-19 syndrome; PACS) and other viral infections. This study used prospectively collected data from an international trial to compare symptoms following COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 respiratory illness, to identify factors associated with the risk of PACS, and to explore symptom patterns before and after COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 respiratory illnesses.

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Cord blood Streptococcus pneumoniae-specific cellular immune responses predict early pneumococcal carriage in high-risk infants in Papua New Guinea

We aimed to explore whether newborns in high-risk areas have pre-existing pneumococcal-specific cellular immune responses that effects early acquisition.

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Evidence of functional cell-mediated immune responses to nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae in otitis-prone children

These data provide evidence that otitis-prone children do not have impaired functional cell mediated immunity