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Biomedical subjects

M J Ferson

Publications and source records attributed to M J Ferson.

53 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Measles immunisation compliance: poor impact of bicentennial measles control campaigns on children under five.

A measles immunisation survey was conducted among children who enrolled in school kindergarten classes in the Eastern Sydney Area in 1989. Its aims were to determine baseline compliance rates, to identify subpopulations at risk of poor compliance and to evaluate the impact of the bicentennial measles control campaigns on compliance among children under five years. All 73 schools participated, questionnaires were returned by 2230 (81.4%) children, and compliance with immunisation was 91.3%. 89.1% of children attending public schools were immunised, compared to 91.9% of Catholic school pupils and 95.8% of independent school pupils (chi 2 = 21.4, P less than 0.001). Among public school children, 91.6% of pupils from English-speaking families were immunised in comparison to 81.4% of pupils from non-English-speaking backgrounds (chi 2 = 20.5, P less than or equal to 0.001). The fraction of previously unimmunised children who were known to have been immunised during each year of the measles control campaigns was 16% in 1986-87, 10% in 1987-88 and 9% in 1988-89. These small increments in immunisation uptake suggest that under-five-year-olds were not effectively targeted by the measles control campaigns. However, no control group was evaluated. Immunisation delivery systems must be designed which ensure that all children receive measles-mumps-rubella vaccine as soon as possible after the first birthday. Immunisation promotions and service providers will need to target specific language and socioeconomic groups.

Australia↗
PubMed1991

Improving surveillance of infectious diseases in New South Wales.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility of laboratory reporting of infectious diseases and to compare the value of this system with the existing medical practitioner notification system. DESIGN: A sample of notifications was selected from medical practitioner notifications and was compared for both completeness and timeliness of notification with a sample of notifications obtained through the Laboratory Infectious Diseases Surveillance Project. SETTING: The New South Wales Health Department and the Public Health Unit of the Eastern Sydney Area Health Service. PARTICIPANTS: Medical practitioners forwarding notifications of infectious diseases to the New South Wales Health Department and laboratories participating in the Laboratory Infectious Diseases Surveillance Project. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We counted the number of infectious diseases reported by medical practitioners and participating laboratories and estimated the proportion of these diseases which were common to both sources of data. We also estimated the time taken between the diagnosis of a notifiable infectious disease and the receipt of the notification by the Medical Officer of Health. RESULTS: There was substantial underreporting of notifiable infectious diseases by medical practitioners. During the study there were 461 cases of a notifiable disease reported by either medical practitioners or by participating laboratories. Of these cases, 75% were reported only by laboratory staff, 20.2% were reported by medical practitioners alone and 4.8% of cases were reported by both laboratory staff and medical practitioners. The Medical Officer of Health received the reports from the participating laboratories within a significantly shorter time than the notifications from medical practitioners. CONCLUSION: The use of infectious disease notifications by laboratories can substantially improve the surveillance of infectious diseases.

Communicable Disease Control↗
PubMed1991

Impact of influenza on morbidity in children with cystic fibrosis.

Recommendations concerning annual influenza vaccination in children suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF) are not uniform. Previous studies have shown that influenza causes a small proportion of episodes of acute respiratory deterioration in CF patients. During the 1989 Australian winter, we studied the association between serologically proven influenza infection and acute respiratory morbidity in 20 children with CF. Six children were shown to have influenza infection, four with type A and two with type B. Four of five children requiring hospital admission were shown to have influenza, but only 2 of 15 did not need admission (P less than or equal to 0.025). As well, influenza was diagnosed in 6 of 12 children who suffered acute respiratory illness leading to school absenteeism (including hospitalization), but diagnosed in no children without this degree of illness (P less than or equal to 0.025). Influenza significantly increases the incidence of hospitalization and of less serious respiratory illness in children with CF, a finding which suggests that influenza vaccine efficacy studies are necessary in this group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Determination and importance of varicella immune status of nursing staff in a children's hospital.

A survey of nurses at the Prince of Wales Children's Hospital was conducted to determine the prevalence of immunity to varicella-zoster virus (VZ) as defined by enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and to establish the value of history as a predictor of immunity. Of the 209 nurses surveyed, 51% could recall suffering VZ infection, and with a single exception, all of this group were immune. However, despite a 95% prevalence of immunity among all nurses, 46% of those found to be immune by EIA could not recollect having VZ infection. In the event of a hospital VZ outbreak, the latter group, without serological testing, would thus need to be regarded as susceptible, and this would create a major logistical problem in staffing the affected areas. We suggest, to minimize this cause of disruption to services, that all paediatric staff with patient contact should be asked at the time of recruitment if they recall suffering VZ infection. Those who give a positive response may be considered immune, but all other staff should have their immune status assessed by EIA at the earliest opportunity.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Immunisation state and its documentation in hospital patients.

Two prospective surveys of the immunisation state and its documentation were conducted among children under 2 years old attending a children's hospital. A survey of 111 children attending the casualty or outpatient departments showed that, according to reliable records, 106 (95%) were fully immunised for age with oral polio vaccine, 93 (84%) with triple antigen, and 26 of 33 children greater than or equal to 16 months of age (79%) with measles-mumps vaccine. A survey of 204 inpatients showed that, according to verified records, significantly fewer inpatients than outpatients were fully immunised for age with oral polio vaccine (176, 86%) and with triple antigen (144, 71%). The proportion of inpatients vaccinated with measles-mumps vaccine was 81% (48 of 59). The inpatient figures are all lower than the 95% goal of current child immunisation programmes. Although parents of 98% of inpatients had a personal health record for the child, it was available at the time of admission for less than half the children. Lack of use of the personal health record by admitting medical staff was reflected in incorrect or absent documentation of the immunisation state in 17 of 49 (35%) of the records of children verified to have inadequate immunisations. Parents and health care staff need to be educated in the optimal use of the personal health record. Hospital paediatric staff need to be encouraged to verify the immunisation state of all young children, on admission, and arrange to rectify any deficiency found.

Child↗
PubMed1989

A method for determining the cut-off value of a varicella-zoster virus IgG enzyme immunoassay for immune status.

The cut-off optical density (OD) of an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for IgG antibody to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) was established by application of a statistical technique to OD readings on sera from known susceptible and immune populations. Children aged one to three years who lacked complement fixation (CF) antibody were considered to be known susceptible subjects. Adults whose sera contained antibody by the CF test were considered to be known immune subjects. The method provides a valid alternative to previously used techniques of establishing a cut-off OD, above which reading the EIA can be taken to indicate immunity to varicella-zoster infection.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lead poisoning from drinking Kombucha tea brewed in a ceramic pot.

Kombucha tea is an alternative therapy that is gaining popularity as a remedy for a diverse range of ailments. We report two cases of symptomatic lead poisoning requiring chelation therapy in a married couple who had been drinking Kombucha tea for six months, brewing the tea in a ceramic pot. We postulate that acids in the tea eluted lead from the glaze pigment used in the ceramic pot, in a manner analogous to elution of lead from crystal decanters by wine and spirits.

Ceramics↗