Stephanie Fletcher1, David Sibbritt2, Damien Stark3, John Harkness3, William Rawlinson4, David Andresen5, Sebastian Van Hal6, Juan Merif7, John Ellis8. 1. Public Health Unit, South Western Sydney Local Health District.; Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 2. Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia . 3. Division of Microbiology, SydPath, St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.; The iThree Institute and School of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 4. Microbiology Department, South Eastern Area Laboratory Service (SEALS), Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.; School of Medical Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. 5. Department of Microbiology, Children's Hospital at Westmead, New South Wales, Australia . 6. Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia . 7. Microbiology Department, South Eastern Area Laboratory Service (SEALS), Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia . 8. The iThree Institute and School of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia .
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: There is a lack of information about the prevalence of gastrointestinal illnesses in Australia. Current disease surveillance systems capture only a few pathogens. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiology of infectious gastrointestinal illnesses in Sydney, Australia. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study of patients with gastrointestinal symptoms who visited tertiary public hospitals in Sydney was conducted between 2007 and 2010. Patients with diarrhoea or loose stools with an enteric pathogen detected were identified. Demographic, clinical and potential risk factor data were collected from their medical records. Measures of association, descriptive and inferential statistics were analysed. RESULTS: In total, 1722 patients were included in this study. Campylobacter (22.0%) and Clostridium difficile (19.2%) were the most frequently detected pathogens. Stratified analysis showed that rotavirus (22.4%), norovirus (20.7%) and adenovirus (18.1%) mainly affected children under 5 years; older children (5-12 years) were frequently infected with Campylobacter spp. (29.8%) and non-typhoid Salmonella spp. (24.4%); infections with C. difficile increased with age.Campylobacter and non-typhoid Salmonella spp. showed increased incidence in summer months (December to February), while rotavirus infections peaked in the cooler months (June to November). DISCUSSION: This study revealed that gastrointestinal illness remains a major public health issue in Sydney. Improvement of current disease surveillance and prevention and control measures are required. This study emphasizes the importance of laboratory diagnosis of enteric infections and the need for better clinical data collection to improve management of disease risk factors in the community.
OBJECTIVE: There is a lack of information about the prevalence of gastrointestinal illnesses in Australia. Current disease surveillance systems capture only a few pathogens. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiology of infectious gastrointestinal illnesses in Sydney, Australia. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study of patients with gastrointestinal symptoms who visited tertiary public hospitals in Sydney was conducted between 2007 and 2010. Patients with diarrhoea or loose stools with an enteric pathogen detected were identified. Demographic, clinical and potential risk factor data were collected from their medical records. Measures of association, descriptive and inferential statistics were analysed. RESULTS: In total, 1722 patients were included in this study. Campylobacter (22.0%) and Clostridium difficile (19.2%) were the most frequently detected pathogens. Stratified analysis showed that rotavirus (22.4%), norovirus (20.7%) and adenovirus (18.1%) mainly affected children under 5 years; older children (5-12 years) were frequently infected with Campylobacter spp. (29.8%) and non-typhoid Salmonella spp. (24.4%); infections with C. difficile increased with age.Campylobacter and non-typhoid Salmonella spp. showed increased incidence in summer months (December to February), while rotavirus infections peaked in the cooler months (June to November). DISCUSSION: This study revealed that gastrointestinal illness remains a major public health issue in Sydney. Improvement of current disease surveillance and prevention and control measures are required. This study emphasizes the importance of laboratory diagnosis of enteric infections and the need for better clinical data collection to improve management of disease risk factors in the community.
Authors: Damien Stark; Joel Barratt; Tamalee Roberts; Deborah Marriott; John Harkness; John Ellis Journal: Am J Trop Med Hyg Date: 2010-04 Impact factor: 2.345
Authors: B K Sederdahl; J Yi; R C Jerris; S E Gillespie; L F Westblade; C S Kraft; A L Shane; E J Anderson Journal: Epidemiol Infect Date: 2018-02-12 Impact factor: 4.434