Scabies and risk of skin sores in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: A self-controlled case series study

PTZ Aung; W Cuningham; K Hwang; RM Andrews; J Carapetis; T Kearns; D Clucas; J McVernon; JA Simpson; S Tong; PT Campbell

Journal article

Scabies and risk of skin sores in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: A self-controlled case series study

PTZ Aung, W Cuningham, K Hwang, RM Andrews, J Carapetis, T Kearns, D Clucas, J McVernon, JA Simpson, S Tong, PT Campbell

Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2018

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006668

Download PDF

Abstract

Background: Skin sores caused by Group A streptococcus (GAS) infection are a major public health problem in remote Aboriginal communities. Skin sores are often associated with scabies, which is evident in scabies intervention programs where a significant reduction of skin sores is seen after focusing solely on scabies control. Our study quantifies the strength of association between skin sores and scabies among Aboriginal children from the East Arnhem region in the Northern Territory. Methods and results: Pre-existing datasets from three published studies, which were conducted as part of the East Arnhem Healthy Skin Project (EAHSP), were analysed. Aboriginal children were followed from birth..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

Jodie McVernon Author

Julie Simpson Author

Steven Tong Author

Patricia Campbell Author

Related Projects (3)

OPTIMISING INTERVENTION STRATEGIES TO REDUCE THE BURDEN OF GROUP A STREPTOCOCCUS IN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES

Skin sores are highly prevalent in remote Australian Indigenous communities and can lead to invasive infections and rheumatic heart disease...

INTEGRATION OF BIOSTATISTICS AND MATHEMATICAL MODELLING TO IMPROVE THE CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Improving the control of infectious diseases requires the evaluation of interventions that prevent disease at the population level and succe..

DEFINING OPTIMAL STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINED CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES

My work helps us understand how infections spread between people, to work out the most effective use of vaccines and other protective measur..

Grants

Awarded by National Health and Medical Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

The project is partly supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) grant #1098319. JMV is supported by an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (#1117140); ST is supported by a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (#1145033); and JAS is supported by a NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship (#1104975). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.