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An Investigation Into The Importance Of Potable Water As A Source Of Melioidosis In Northern Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$362,036.00
Summary
Melioidosis is a potentially fatal infection that occurs throughout the Top End. Infection usually sets in after exposure to contaminated soil or surface water. A recent outbreak of melioidosis in which three of seven cases died was traced to the community's drinking water supply. Subsequent improvements to the community's drinking water treatment appear to have brought the outbreak under control. However, the ability of the bacteria responsible for this infection to survive within the body for ....Melioidosis is a potentially fatal infection that occurs throughout the Top End. Infection usually sets in after exposure to contaminated soil or surface water. A recent outbreak of melioidosis in which three of seven cases died was traced to the community's drinking water supply. Subsequent improvements to the community's drinking water treatment appear to have brought the outbreak under control. However, the ability of the bacteria responsible for this infection to survive within the body for many years before causing late onset infection means that further cases may be recorded in the affected community for years to come. This project aims to assess whether the drinking water supply to other rural communities presents a risk of melioidosis throughout the Top End. Drinking water supplies will be tested for the presence of the bacteria that cause melioidosis. Genetic fingerprinting will be used to compare each strain isolated from water specimens with strains obtained from infections previously diagnosed in hospitals throughout the Top End. This will involve the combined efforts of researchers in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. Comparison of these results with standard measures of drinking water quality will enable the research team to work out whether any routinely performed tests can be used as a guide to melioidosis risk. The team will also examine whether any geographical features such as deep water supply or the type of vegetation present can be used to assess melioidosis risk. A clearer picture of melioidosis risk will make it easier to target the delivery of preventive methods such as chlorination or alternatives to specific water supplies. Preliminary studies in Western Australia suggest that primary prevention of melioidosis may be possible. We need to see how widely those findings apply. It is hoped that this work will lead to a significant reduction in the risk of contracting this disease throughout the endemic region.Read moreRead less
Diversity And Virulence Determinants Among 1000 Clinical And Environmental Isolates Of Burkholderia Pseudomallei
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$517,639.00
Summary
Melioidosis is an important infection in tropical northern Australia. It is a common cause of fatal pneumonia and blood infection in the region. Melioidosis results from infection with a soil bacterium. This project builds on the existing melioidosis collaboration between researchers in northern Australia and overseas to determine how the melioidosis bacterium can be so virulent and whether only a subset of the melioidosis bacteria found in the environment are capable of infecting humans.
Continuation Of The Darwin Prospective Melioidosis Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$567,976.00
Summary
Melioidosis is an important infection in northern Australia. It is a common cause of fatal pneumonia and blood infection in the region. This project builds on the existing melioidosis collaboration between researchers in northern Australia and overseas. The aim is to use new DNA fingerprinting methods developed specifically for the melioidosis bacteria to understand better why melioidosis can be such a severe disease and how it spreads from the environment to humans and animals and also how it h ....Melioidosis is an important infection in northern Australia. It is a common cause of fatal pneumonia and blood infection in the region. This project builds on the existing melioidosis collaboration between researchers in northern Australia and overseas. The aim is to use new DNA fingerprinting methods developed specifically for the melioidosis bacteria to understand better why melioidosis can be such a severe disease and how it spreads from the environment to humans and animals and also how it has possibly spread within Australia and overseas. Our studies in the Darwin rural region have found an alarmingly high rate of contamination of bore water with the melioidosis bacteria. We need to evaluate further the magnitude and public health implications of this contamination. Better recognition and treatment of melioidosis has resulted in a halving of the death rate from this disease in northern Australia (mortality decreased from 40%-15%). This study also aims to develop and test a new DNA detection system for rapid diagnosis of melioidosis. This will enable even earlier intervention with treatment specific for melioidosis which will hopefully decrease the mortality further.Read moreRead less
Molecular Epidemiology Of Melioidosis In Australia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$357,875.00
Summary
Melioidosis is an important infection in northern Australia. It is a common cause of fatal pneumonia and blood infection in the region. Two outbreaks of melioidosis with fatalities occurring in remote Aboriginal communities have been linked to contamination of the community water supply with the melioidosis bacteria, Burkholderia pseudomallei. In addition, a rare form of melioidosis affecting the brain and spinal cord has resulted in a number of deaths in healthy Aboriginal people and also a num ....Melioidosis is an important infection in northern Australia. It is a common cause of fatal pneumonia and blood infection in the region. Two outbreaks of melioidosis with fatalities occurring in remote Aboriginal communities have been linked to contamination of the community water supply with the melioidosis bacteria, Burkholderia pseudomallei. In addition, a rare form of melioidosis affecting the brain and spinal cord has resulted in a number of deaths in healthy Aboriginal people and also a number left living in remote communities with severe disabilities such as complete paralysis of both legs. Melioidosis has also been identified in two outbreaks occurring over many years in separate locations in southern Australia. It is thought that it may have been introduced to these regions by imported animals, eg via cattle drives, and human fatalities have occurred after local flooding in these temperate locations. This project is built on the ongoing melioidosis collaboration between researchers in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. The aim is to use new DNA fingerprinting methods developed specifically for the melioidosis bacteria to understand better why melioidosis can be such a severe disease and how it spreads from the environment to humans and animals and also how it has possibly spread within Australia and overseas. Better recognition and treatment of melioidosis has resulted in a halving of the death rate from this disease in northern Australia (mortality decreased from 40%-18%). This study aims to give us a better understanding of how this soil and water bacteria interacts with humans to cause such severe disease and will hopefully result in new primary preventative measures to complement the improved diagnosis and treatment.Read moreRead less
Statistical Methods To Assist The Control Of Communicable Diseases, And Their Application
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$211,527.00
Summary
A range of programs, such as vaccination schedules and intervention in outbreaks, is in place to reduce our burden of illness from infectious diseases. This project aims to develop new methods, based on models and associated statistical analyses, to help ensure that our control programs are based on the best available evidence. There are five specific themes: 1. Developed methods for predicting major outbreaks of diseases and appy them to Australian data on measles, pertussis and Ross River viru ....A range of programs, such as vaccination schedules and intervention in outbreaks, is in place to reduce our burden of illness from infectious diseases. This project aims to develop new methods, based on models and associated statistical analyses, to help ensure that our control programs are based on the best available evidence. There are five specific themes: 1. Developed methods for predicting major outbreaks of diseases and appy them to Australian data on measles, pertussis and Ross River virus. The new methods will enable timely intervention to reduce the population risk from these diseases, and to guide the proposed elimination of measles from Australia. 2. The current concept of vaccine efficacy, which is central to the epidemiological assessment of vaccines, performs poorly when the vaccine provides only partial protection, when immunity wanes over time and when infected vaccinees have a lower infectivity. A concept of vaccine efficacy will be developed that overcomes these weaknesses. This concept will find widespread use in epidemiology. 3. Data available from 80 outbreak investigations of transmissible diseases will be analysed to assess the relative effectiveness of various intervention steps. 4. A comprehensive model, and associated computer software, will be developed as a tool for assessing the relative merits of different vaccination schedules. It will be applied to address Australian policy issues for vaccination against pertussis, chickenpox and rubella. 5. The method of backprojection for estimating trends in HIV infection and predicting AIDS incidence will be enhanced to incorporate newly available data in which HIV and AIDS diagnoses are linked. This will enable a precise assessment of infection incidence among heterosexuals and other exposure categories with relatively few cases, to ensure that HIV does not spread more widely.Read moreRead less