Network modelling nationally important emerging infectious diseases

Prevalence and spatial distribution of Coxiella burnetii seropositivity in northern Australian beef cattle adjusted for diagnostic test uncertainty

CM Wood, NR Perkins, SJ Tozer, W Johnson, TS Barnes, M McGowan, JS Gibson, J Alawneh, SM Firestone, SM Woldeyohannes

2021-02-05

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with Coxiella burnetii transmitted from animals including, but not limited to, c..

Coxiella burnetii in the environment: A systematic review and critical appraisal of sampling methods

AM Hasanthi Abeykoon, Nicholas Joshua Clark, Ricardo Jorge Soares Magalhaes, Gemma Anne Vincent, Mark Anthony Stevenson, Simon Matthew Firestone, Anke Katrin Wiethoelter

2020-12-14

Q fever is a zoonotic disease caused by the intracellular bacterium, Coxiella burnetii. Its primary mode of transmission is by inh..

Comparison of the modified agglutination test and real-time PCR for detection of Toxoplasma gondii exposure in feral cats from Phillip Island, Australia, and risk factors associated with infection

Katherine Adriaanse, Simon M Firestone, Michael Lynch, Anthony R Rendall, Duncan R Sutherland, Jasmin Hufschmid, Rebecca Traub

2020-08-01

Toxoplasma gondii is considered a disease risk for many native Australian species. Feral cats are the key definitive host of T. go..

Transmission network reconstruction for foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks incorporating farm-level covariates

Simon M Firestone, Yoko Hayama, Max SY Lau, Takehisa Yamamoto, Tatsuya Nishi, Richard A Bradhurst, Haydar Demirhan, Mark A Stevenson, Toshiyuki Tsutsui

2020-07-15

Transmission network modelling to infer ‘who infected whom’ in infectious disease outbreaks is a highly active area of research. O..

Further development of a reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay for the detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus and validation in the field with use of an internal positive control

Carolyn Bath, Megan Scott, Puspa Maya Sharma, Ratna B Gurung, Yoenten Phuentshok, Stephen Pefanis, Axel Colling, Nagendrakumar Singanallur Balasubramanian, Simon M Firestone, Sahawatchara Ungvanijban, Jadsada Ratthanophart, John Allen, Grant Rawlin, Mark Fegan, Brendan Rodoni

2020-05-06

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hooved animals. Global outbreaks have highlighted the ..

Spatiotemporal and risk analysis of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza in Vietnam, 2014-2017

Thanh Nguyen Lam, Mark A Stevenson, Simon M Firestone, Leslie D Sims, Huy Chu Duc, Van Nguyen Long, Ngoc Nguyen Tien, Trung Le Kien, Norikazu Isoda, Keita Matsuno, Masatoshi Okamatsu, Hiroshi Kida, Yoshihiro Sakoda

2020-05-01

The aim of this study was to describe the spatiotemporal distribution of H5 HPAI outbreak reports for the period 2014-2017 and to ..

Unravelling animal exposure profiles of human Q fever cases in Queensland, Australia, using natural language processing

Nicholas J Clark, Sarah Tozer, Caitlin Wood, Simon M Firestone, Mark Stevenson, Charles Caraguel, Anne-Lise Chaber, Jane Heller, Ricardo J Soares Magalhaes

2020-04-20

Q fever, caused by the zoonotic bacterium Coxiella burnetii, is a globally distributed emerging infectious disease. Livestock are ..

The forecasting of dynamical Ross River virus outbreaks: Victoria, Australia

Iain S Koolhof, Katherine B Gibney, Silvana Bettiol, Michael Charleston, Anke Wiethoelter, Anna-Lena Arnold, Patricia T Campbell, Peter J Neville, Phyo Aung, Tsubasa Shiga, Scott Carver, Simon M Firestone

2020-03-01

Ross River virus (RRV) is Australia's most epidemiologically important mosquito-borne disease. During RRV epidemics in the State o..

Reconstructing a transmission network and identifying risk factors of secondary transmissions in the 2010 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Japan

Yoko Hayama, Simon M Firestone, Mark A Stevenson, Takehisa Yamamoto, Tatsuya Nishi, Yumiko Shimizu, Toshiyuki Tsutsui

2019-09-01

Research aimed at understanding transmission networks, representing a network of “who infected whom” for an infectious disease out..

A systematic study towards evolutionary and epidemiological dynamics of currently predominant H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in Vietnam

Thanh Nguyen Lam, Simon M Firestone, Mark A Stevenson, Neil D Young, Leslie D Sims, Huy Chu Duc, Ngoc Nguyen Tien, Van Nguyen Long, Thanh Le Tung, Van Nguyen Hung, Nam Nguyen Hung, Ngoc Tien Tien, Dang Nguyen Tho, Ngoc Tran Bich, Keita Matsuno, Masatoshi Okamatsu, Hiroshi Kida, Yoshihiro Sakoda

2019-05-22

This study aimed to elucidate virus, host and environmental dynamics of Vietnamese H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (H..

Effect of immunosuppressive drugs on cytokine production in canine whole blood stimulated with lipopolysaccharide or a combination of ionomycin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate

Julien RS Dandrieux, Lakshmi Narayanan, Simon Firestone, Todd M Archer, Caroline S Mansfield

2019-05-01

A pharmacodynamic assay has been previously developed to monitor ciclosporin treatment in dogs by assessing inhibition of cytokine..

Spatial Analysis of a Cat-Borne Disease Reveals That Soil pH and Clay Content Are Risk Factors for Sarcocystosis in Sheep

Patrick L Taggart, Mark A Stevenson, Simon M Firestone, Milton M McAllister, Charles GB Caraguel

2019-04-24

Cat-borne parasites and their associated diseases have substantial impacts on human, livestock, and wildlife health worldwide. Des..

Reconstructing foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks: a methods comparison of transmission network models

Simon M Firestone, Yoko Hayama, Richard Bradhurst, Takehisa Yamamoto, Toshiyuki Tsutsui, Mark A Stevenson

2019-03-18

A number of transmission network models are available that combine genomic and epidemiological data to reconstruct networks of who..

The prevalence of Coxiella burnetii shedding in dairy goats at the time of parturition in an endemically infected enterprise and associated milk yield losses

JosE T Canevari, Simon M Firestone, Gemma Vincent, Angus Campbell, Tabita Tan, Michael Muleme, Alexander WN Cameron, Mark A Stevenson

2018-11-20

Background This was a panel study of the prevalence of C. burnetii infection in does in an endemic dairy goat enterprise in Victor..

Review of 20 years of human acute Q fever notifications in Victoria, 1994-2013

KA Bond, L Franklin, B Sutton, MA Stevenson, SM Firestone

2018-06-01

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiological and clinical features of acute Q fever in Victoria from 1994 to 2013. DESIGN: Retrospec..

Investigation of the Role of Campylobacter Infection in Suspected Acute Polyradiculoneuritis in Dogs

L Martinez-Anton, M Marenda, SM Firestone, RN Bushell, G Child, AI Hamilton, SN Long, MAR Le Chevoir

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND: Acute polyradiculoneuritis (APN) is an immune-mediated peripheral nerve disorder in dogs that shares many similarities..

Q-Vax Q fever vaccine failures, Victoria, Australia 1994-2013

Katherine A Bond, Lucinda J Franklin, Brett Sutton, Simon M Firestone

2017-12-18

Q-Vax®, a whole cell formalin inactivated vaccine, is currently the only licensed Q fever vaccine for humans world-wide. Efficacy ..

An automated, multiplex-tandem PCR platform for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal nematode infections in cattle: An Australian-European validation study

Florian Roeber, Ebrahim Bani Hassan, Philip Skuce, Alison Morrison, Edwin Claerebout, Stijn Casaert, David R Homer, Simon Fireston, Mark Stevenson, Lee Smith, John Larsen

2017-05-30

Detecting the genera and species of gastrointestinal (GI) nematode infections in faecal samples obtained from cattle requires the ..

Estimating the intra-cluster correlation coefficient for evaluating an educational intervention program to improve rabies awareness and dog bite prevention among children in Sikkim, India: A pilot study

Aashima Auplish, Alison S Clarke, Trent Van Zanten, Kate Abel, Charmaine Tham, Thinlay N Bhutia, Colin R Wilks, Mark A Stevenson, Simon M Firestone

2017-05-01

BACKGROUND: Educational initiatives targeting at-risk populations have long been recognized as a mainstay of ongoing rabies contro..

Predictive modelling of Ross River virus notifications in southeastern Australia

Z Cutcher, E Williamson, SE Lynch, S Rowe, HJ Clothier, SM Firestone

2017-02-01

Ross River virus (RRV) is a mosquito-borne virus endemic to Australia. The disease, marked by arthritis, myalgia and rash, has a c..

One Health approach to controlling a Q fever outbreak on an Australian goat farm

KA Bond, G Vincent, CR Wilks, L Franklin, B Sutton, J Stenos, R Cowan, K Lim, E Athan, O Harris, L Macfarlane-Berry, Y Segal, SM Firestone

2016-04-01

A recent outbreak of Q fever was linked to an intensive goat and sheep dairy farm in Victoria, Australia, 2012-2014. Seventeen emp..