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Results for “SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS”

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At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Obstetric profiles and perinatal mortality among Pacific Island immigrants in New South Wales, 1990-93.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the obstetric profile and perinatal mortality of Pacific Island-born women giving birth in New South Wales (NSW) and assess risk factors associated with the high perinatal death rate previously noted in this immigrant group. METHOD: Retrospective cohort study based on the Midwives Data Collection in NSW from 1990 to 1993. Births to 5,034 Pacific Island-born women were compared with births to 256,843 Australian-born women. RESULTS: Pacific Island-born women had fewer teenage pregnancies and were of an older age and higher parity. They were more likely to be married or in a de facto relationship and to present for antenatal care later in the pregnancy. The proportion of low birthweight and preterm birth was similar in the two groups but Pacific Islanders had a higher perinatal mortality rate (14.6/1,000 vs. 10.3/1,000, RR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.13-1.54). Even at normal and high birthweights, infants of Pacific Island-born women were at greater risk of perinatal death. After adjusting for maternal factors (marital status, insurance status, parity and maternal age) Pacific Islanders were 30% more likely to have a perinatal death (OR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.07-1.54). CONCLUSIONS: Further analyses of the causes of perinatal death in Pacific Island-born women are needed so appropriate interventions can be implemented. IMPLICATIONS: The need for the design and evaluation of culturally specific services aimed at improving antenatal care attendance in Pacific Islanders is emphasised. Conventional risk assessment may not adequately predict adverse perinatal outcomes in all populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Emergence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in Queensland, Australia.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence and epidemiology of non-multiresistant methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (nmMRSA) infection in south-east Queensland, Australia. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective survey was done of hospital records of all patients who had non-multiresistant MRSA isolated at Ipswich Hospital (a 250-bed general hospital, 40 km south-west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) between March 2000 and June 2001. Laboratory typing of these isolates was done with antibiogram, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, bacteriophage typing and coagulase gene typing. RESULTS: There were 44 infections caused by nmMRSA. Seventeen infections (39%) occurred in patients from the south-west Pacific Islands (predominantly Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand). Laboratory typing showed that the isolates in Pacific Islanders were Pacific Island strains, and 16/17 of these infections were community acquired. Twenty-three infections (52%) occurred in Caucasians. Eleven of the isolates from Caucasians (48%) were a new predominantly community-acquired strain that we have termed the 'R' pulsotype, nine (39%) were Pacific Island strains, and three (13%) were health care institution-associated strains. Four infections occurred in patients who were not Caucasians or Pacific Islanders. Overall, 34 of all 44 infections (77%) were community acquired. CONCLUSIONS: Non-multiresistant MRSA infection, relatively frequently observed in Pacific Islanders in south-east Queensland, is now a risk for Caucasians as well, and is usually community acquired. Clinicians should consider taking microbiological specimens for culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing in patients with suspected staphylococcal infections who are not responding to empirical therapy with beta-lactam antibiotics.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

A survey to gather sexually transmitted disease epidemiological and management data in the Solomon Islands.

A survey of 15 clinics and hospitals in the Solomon Islands (a South Pacific nation with a 45% rate of penicillin-resistant gonorrhoea) was undertaken to audit the quality of sexually transmitted diseases data collection, adherence to public health fundamentals and knowledge of the national gonorrhoea management guidelines. With the exception of one town clinic, data collection was limited, syphilis serological testing was low (28%) and correct knowledge of the national gonorrhoea treatment guidelines was also limited to 4/8 clinics (50%). Contact tracing was definitely undertaken in 2/8 (25%) of clinics. A high male/female notification ratio (3.6:1) for gonorrhoea was detected. Solomon Island clinics may be typical of other South Pacific Island communities in their inadequate attention to public health fundamentals. Every effort should be made to identify these shortcomings and provide feedback to clinic health workers to improve this service, particularly in the context of the more recent arrival of the HIV epidemic in the region.

Contact Tracing↗
PubMed2006

A new species of Procamallanus (Nematoda: Camallanidae) from Pacific eels (Anguilla spp.).

A new species of parasitic nematode, Procamallanus (Procamallanus) pacificus n. sp., is described from the stomach of the Pacific shortfinned eel, Anguilla obscura (type host), and from the speckled longfin eel, Anguilla reinhardtii, from northern New Caledonia (Melanesia, South Pacific); from Anguilla sp. (cf. obscura) from the Fiji Islands (Melanesia, South Pacific); and from the giant mottled eel Anguilla marmorata from Futuna Island (Wallis and Futuna Islands, Polynesia). Although a total of 450 nematodes were collected, all specimens were females; this suggests either an extremely rare occurrence of males or parthenogenetic reproduction in this species. Procamallanus pacificus differs markedly from all congeners from fish hosts in possessing a greater number (4-9) of caudal mucrons in the female and by other morphological features. This parasite might become a serious pathogen of cultured eels in the region of the South Pacific. Batrachocamallanus Jackson and Tinsley, 1995 is considered a junior synonym of Procamallanus Baylis, 1923, to which 2 species are transferred as Procamallanus occidentalis (Jackson and Tinsley, 1995) n. comb. and Procamallanus siluranae (Jackson and Tinsley, 1995) n. comb. One third-stage larva of Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) sp. was also recorded from Anguilla sp. (cf. obscura) from the Fiji Islands.

Anguilla↗
PubMed2001

From policy to action: access to essential drugs for the treatment of hypertension in the Small Island States (SIS) of the South Pacific.

The existing acquisition cost for essential drugs in the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Tuvalu, is sufficiently high to compromise equitable access to quality drug therapy. The difficulty of access is further compounded by problems of distance from drug manufacturers and suppliers, associated with inadequate transport and communication links. In some of the Small Island States of the Pacific, internal distribution challenges further reduce access to drugs for those people who live on the outer islands. Two management processes to address these problems which have successfully been used in the past, are the establishment of an essential drug list to guarantee consistent appropriate treatment, and the introduction of pooled or bulk purchasing in order to achieve economies of scale. The major non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the South Pacific include diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. These diseases, in association with life-style factors of obesity and smoking result in significant morbidity and mortality. This paper demonstrates that collaboration in drug purchasing of a defined list of essential drugs for hypertension would be beneficial in the South Pacific, and that the process is a model for achievement of rational drug treatment for NCDs in isolated small economies.

Antihypertensive Agents↗