Are Routine Healthcare Worker Hand Hygiene Protocols (soap/water, Alcohol-based Handrub) Effective Against Influenza?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$99,950.00
Summary
Although influenza is mainly spread from person-to-person by aerosol transmission (coughing, sneezing etc), there is growing evidence that spread also occurs on the hands of infected patients and their carers (non-aerosol transmission). Because of this, health authorities now recommend the use of careful hand hygiene (HH: hand washing with soap-water or use of alcohol-based hand rub solutions [ABHRS]) by healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients. However, despite these recommendations, there are no ....Although influenza is mainly spread from person-to-person by aerosol transmission (coughing, sneezing etc), there is growing evidence that spread also occurs on the hands of infected patients and their carers (non-aerosol transmission). Because of this, health authorities now recommend the use of careful hand hygiene (HH: hand washing with soap-water or use of alcohol-based hand rub solutions [ABHRS]) by healthcare workers (HCWs) and patients. However, despite these recommendations, there are no data that demonstrate the effectiveness of such HH protocols. This project aims to assess the clinical effectiveness of four HH protocols (handwashing with soap-water, alcohol-only ABHRS, two alcohol-chlorhexidine ABHRS) in common use in Australian hospitals to see which protocol is best for killing influenza virus. We also plan to assess how long influenza virus remains infectious on HCWs hands if they fail to use appropriate HH. Since it could be dangerous to use live avian influenza virus in this study, we plan to use the H1N1 influenza A strain that was a component of the influenza vaccine administered to most HCWs in 2005. Thus, only HCWs with protective immunity to H1N1 will participate in a series of tests in which they will have their hands artificially contaminated with a known concentration of live H1N1 before using either no HH, or one of the four HH protocols, followed by an assessment (virus culture and molecular tests) or the amount of H1N1 surviving on their hands after each protocol. Some selected HCWs will also have the amount of surviving virus assessed 30 and 60 minutes after contamination to identify how long H1N1 survives on HCWs hands should they not use appropriate HH. Following all protocols, all HCWs will perform a detailed surgical scrub (similar to surgeons before an operation) to make certain that all H1N1 is killed to avoid any infection of themselves or their contacts. The study will be undertaken in special, secure, negative-pressure rooms at Austin Hospital away from patient care areas to provide maximum safety conditions. All virus culture and molecular tests will be performed in the virus Identification Laboratory at the Victorian Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory (VIDRL), Melbourne. Results of the study should help identify which HH protocol provides the most protection against influenza.Read moreRead less
New Vectors, New Diseases: Understanding The Risk Of Chikungunya Transmission In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$522,580.00
Summary
Chikungunya is a febrile illness that can lead to chronic, debilitating joint pain in adults and severe neurological complications in children. Introductions of this virus into Australia have steadily increased in recent years. We will estimate the risk of chikungunya transmission in Australia now and into the future, and deliver the results to public health authorities to reduce the risk of outbreaks in Australia.
Resolving Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Transmission
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$745,213.00
Summary
To increase the breadth of HIV prevention strategies, it is imperative that we biologically understand how HIV enters our bodies. Through two unique clinical cohorts, we will determine why circumcision is protective and how a commonly acquired sexual transmitted infection (human papilloma virus) can increase HIV transmission.
The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a virus that infects and kills the cells of your immune system. This infection eventually leads to the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). An important aspect in preventing infection is to study how HIV enters immune cells and how infection spreads. Our lab is researching drugs to block the entry of HIV in immune cells, which can hopefully be used together with existing anti-HIV drugs to slow down the spread of the virus and the onset of AIDS.
HIV/AIDS remains a major global threat with ?37 million individuals living with HIV in 2014. Antiretroviral drugs have transformed HIV from a death sentence into a chronic disease. Public health organisations recommend dramatic scale up of drugs for HIV treatment and prevention. However, a major threat is that drug options will be exhausted in the long-term due to drug resistance and toxicity. The major aim of this study is to advance the development of an entirely new drug class for HIV.
Studies On The Activation And Immunogenicity Of The HIV-1 Glycoproteins, Gp120-gp41
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$606,438.00
Summary
More than 34 million people were living with HIV-1 in 2011 with ~7,000 new infections still occurring daily. A prophylactic vaccine for HIV-1 is needed to stop its transmission, however, this goal is yet to be achieved. Our proposed studies will inform the design of prophylactic HIV-1 vaccines that act by making antibodies that neutralize the virus.
Multiple Cytomegalovirus Infections: Biological And Evolutionary Significance.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$555,776.00
Summary
This project involves the study of cytomegalovirus (CMV) a common viral infection of humans which normally cause little disease. However in individuals whose immune system is suppressed (such as AIDS patients or transplant recipients), or in infection of pregnant women, CMV can cause serious or life-threatening disease in the patient or foetus. An interesting feature of CMV diseases in such patients is that enhanced viral growth and more severe disease is frequently associated with the presence ....This project involves the study of cytomegalovirus (CMV) a common viral infection of humans which normally cause little disease. However in individuals whose immune system is suppressed (such as AIDS patients or transplant recipients), or in infection of pregnant women, CMV can cause serious or life-threatening disease in the patient or foetus. An interesting feature of CMV diseases in such patients is that enhanced viral growth and more severe disease is frequently associated with the presence of multiple strains of CMV in the patient. We suggest that mixed CMV infections provide a survival advantage to the virus, with different strains within the mixed infection assisting the growth of other strains. This would result in increased virus growth overall, and enhanced disease. To study the mechanisms by which multiple infections with different CMV strains may affect both the virus and the host, experiments will be performed using an animal model of CMV, murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV). We will examine the effect of the presence of multiple strains of virus on virus growth and distribution within the infected host. We will also determine if functional MCMV strains are capable of assisting non-functional strains to survive within the host. These studies are relevant to the design of a CMV vaccine, and will be valuable in revealing the ways in which viruses can co-operate within an infection.Read moreRead less
Ross River virus - identification of virulence determinants in clinical isolates from across Australia. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. The project has several national benefits. It will elucida ....Ross River virus - identification of virulence determinants in clinical isolates from across Australia. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. The project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is any association between RRV strain and the severity of human disease. It will also identify viral markers that could assist public health officials in determining likely disease outcomes of outbreaks and could provide new avenues for the design of antiviral strategies.Read moreRead less
Mosquito-borne viruses - how they cause disease and novel approaches to prevention. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. This project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is ....Mosquito-borne viruses - how they cause disease and novel approaches to prevention. In Australia, Ross River virus (RRV) is the most common insect borne virus that affects human health. There were more than 60,000 confirmed cases of RRV between 1993 and 2008. While not fatal, the disease is responsible for significant morbidity that has both social and economic costs for the individual, their family and the community. This project has several national benefits. It will elucidate whether there is an association between RRV strain and the severity of disease and if there are human factors that affect the seriousness of symptoms. Knowledge of both of these could provide new avenues for the design of prevention and treatment strategies.Read moreRead less