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Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) prevents pneumococcal disease and pneumonia, but indirect effects are poorly understood in low-coverage, high-burden settings like Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG introduced 13-valent PCV (PCV13) in 2014. We aimed to assess direct and indirect effectiveness of PCV13 against vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among children with pneumonia or suspected meningitis in PNG

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant cause of respiratory infections in young children. Since 2021, RSV has been a notifiable disease in Australia. However, current surveillance systems focus on hospitalised RSV, with limited surveillance at a community level through primary care clinics. This approach only captures RSV requiring hospitalisation. Less severe illnesses, while not captured, may have significant social and economic impacts including the associated cost of care and absenteeism. The aim of this study is to establish an understanding of the broader burden of RSV in young children in a community setting.

This study described the presenting features, initial assessment, hospital care, and complications at discharge among Australian adolescents and young adults with Invasive meningococcal disease.

Vancomycin is first-line treatment for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. However, despite guideline recommendations, there is no evidence that targeting vancomycin trough concentrations of ≥15 mg/L in children confers clinical benefit and is associated with vancomycin-associated nephrotoxicity. 

To determine the incidence, serotype distribution and clinical outcomes of invasive pneumococcal disease in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia following widespread use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.

Australia introduced a hybrid Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Maternal and Infant Protection Program (RSV-MIPP) in 2025, using National Immunisation Program-funded RSV vaccine for pregnant people from 28 weeks' gestation and jurisdiction-funded nirsevimab. We estimated real-world effectiveness and assessed the impact of the RSV-MIPP program across a participating surveillance network.

Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain parenchyma with heterogenous aetiology and presentation. In children, it often leads to short-term residual neurological deficits, however clinical predictors of adverse long-term outcome are not fully understood.

Around half of children admitted to hospital receive intravenous antibiotics, contributing to higher costs, vascular access complications and longer hospital stays.

Infection Triggered Encephalopathy Syndrome (ITES) is a rare but potentially severe complication of infections in children. ITES is a syndrome of acute encephalopathy that occurs in the context of a febrile illness and hypothesised to result from a cytokine mediated infection-triggered cytotoxicity in the central nervous system (CNS) without parenchymal inflammatory cell infiltration. ITES is considered distinct from infectious and immune-mediated encephalitis. We aimed to describe the demographics, associated pathogens, clinical spectrum and outcomes of ITES in Australian children from May 2013 until June 2024.

There are 117.3 million people forcibly displaced because of war, conflict and natural disasters: 40% are children. With growing numbers, many high-income countries have adopted or are considering increasingly restrictive policies of immigration detention. Research on the impact of detention on mental health has focused on adults, although recent studies report on children.