Endemic melioidosis in residents of desert region after atypically intense rainfall in central Australia, 2011.

After heavy rains and flooding during early 2011 in the normally arid interior of Australia, melioidosis was diagnosed in 6 persons over a 4-month period. Although the precise global distribution of the causal bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei remains to be determined, this organism can clearly survive in harsh and even desert environments outside the wet tropics.

Surveillance of pneumococcal serotype 1 carriage during an outbreak of serotype 1 invasive pneumococcal disease in central Australia 2010-2012.

BACKGROUND: An outbreak of serotype 1 invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) occurred in Central Australia from October 2010 to the latter part of 2012. Surveillance of serotype 1 carriage was conducted to determine epidemiological features of asymptomatic carriage that could potentially be driving the outbreak. METHODS: 130 patients and accompanying persons presenting at Alice Springs Hospital Emergency Department consented to nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) collection. NPS were processed by standard methods, including culture, pneumococcal lytA quantitative real-time PCR, serotype 1-specific real-time PCR and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). RESULTS: Pneumococcal carriage was detected in 16% of participants. Carriage was highest in the under 10 year olds from remote communities surrounding Alice Springs (75%). Four NPS were positive for serotype 1 DNA by PCR; 3 were also culture-positive for serotype 1 pneumococci. Serotype 1 isolates had atypical colony morphology on primary culture. All serotype 1 carriers were healthy children 5 to 8 years of age from remote communities. By MLST, serotype 1 isolates were ST306, as were IPD isolates associated with this outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: During an outbreak of serotype 1 ST306 IPD, carriage of the outbreak strain was detected in 3% NPS collected. All carriers were healthy children 5 to 8 years of age.

Exclusion of Migrant Workers from National UHC Systems-Perspectives from HealthServe, a Non-profit Organisation in Singapore.

Low-wage migrant workers in Singapore are legally entitled to healthcare provided by their employers and supported by private insurance, separate from the national UHC (universal health coverage) system. In practice, they face multiple barriers to access. In this article, we describe this policy-practice gap from the perspective of HealthServe, a non-profit organisation that assists low-wage migrant workers. We outline the healthcare financing system for migrant workers, describe commonly encountered barriers, and comment on their implications for the global UHC movement's key ethical concepts of fairness, equity, and solidarity.

Community and clinic-based screening for curable sexually transmissible infections in a high prevalence setting in Australia: a retrospective longitudinal analysis of clinical service data from 2006 to 2009.

UNLABELLED: Background In response to the high prevalence of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) in many central Australian Aboriginal communities, a community-wide screening program was implemented to supplement routine primary health care (PHC) clinic testing. The uptake and outcomes of these two approaches were compared. METHODS: Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) community and clinic screening data for Aboriginal people aged 15-34 years, 2006-2009, were used. Regression analyses assessed predictors of the first test occurring in the community screen, positivity and repeat testing. RESULTS: A total of 2792 individuals had 9402 tests (median: four per person) over 4 years. Approximately half of the individuals (54%) were tested in the community and clinic approaches combined, 29% (n=806) in the community screen only and 18% (n=490) in the clinic only. Having the first test in a community screen was associated with being male and being aged 15-19 years. There was no difference between community and clinic approaches in CT or NG positivity at first test. More than half (55%) of individuals had a repeat test within 2-15 months and of these, 52% accessed different approaches at each test. The only independent predictor of repeat testing was being 15-19 years. CONCLUSIONS: STI screening is an important PHC activity and the findings highlight the need for further support for clinics to reach young people. The community screen approach was shown to be a useful complementary approach; however, cost and sustainability need to be considered.

Workplace violence directed at nursing staff at a general hospital in southern Thailand.

This study aimed to document the characteristics of workplace violence directed at nursing staff, an issue which has rarely been studied in a developing country. Two study methods, a survey and a key informant interview, were conducted at a general hospital in southern Thailand. A total of 545 out of 594 questionnaires sent were returned for statistical analysis (response rate=91.7%). The 12-month prevalence of violence experience was 38.9% for verbal abuse, 3.1% for physical abuse, and 0.7% for sexual harassment. Psychological consequences including poor relationships with colleagues and family members were the major concerns. Patients and their relatives were the main perpetrators in verbal and physical abuse while co-workers were the main perpetrators in cases of sexual harassment. Common factors to incidents of violence were psychological setting, illness of the perpetrators, miscommunication, and alcohol use. Logistic regression analysis showed younger age to be a personal risk factor. Working in the out-patient unit, trauma and emergency unit, operating room, or medical or surgical unit increased the odds of violence by 80%. Training related to violence prevention and control was found to be effective and decreased the risk of being a victim of violence by 40%. We recommend providing training to high risk groups as a means of controlling workplace violence directed at nursing staff.