Vaccine manufacturers should consider updating vaccine composition to include the Omicron strain, according to the WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC).  The independent and multidisciplinary ...

In 2021 there were 86,916 diagnoses of chlamydia, 26,577 of gonorrhoea and 5,570 of infectious syphilis in Australia There were reductions in total chlamydia and gonorrhoea diagnoses nationally – but also a drop in the numbers of ...

New models of care and more investment are urgently needed to reach people at risk or living with hepatitis C, and engage people lost to care, otherwise Australia risks falling short of its goal to eliminate hepatitis C as a public ...

There were 552 new HIV diagnoses in Australia in 2021, the lowest number since the beginning of the HIV epidemic. The majority of new diagnoses remain in gay and bisexual men (68%), but have reduced by more than 52% over the past 10 ...

Key findings: Research estimates that in Australia a blood donation from a person who could potentially transmit vCJD would occur once every 65 years, and the risk will continue to decrease over time. The current estimated risk of a ...

At least 17% of Australian adults are estimated to have recently had COVID-19 by the end of February 2022 Adults aged 18-29 had the highest proportion of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 Queensland had the ...

Researchers from the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney have developed a world-first method for rapid isolation and characterisation of COVID-19 variants. The methodology, which has been shared with the global scientific community through ...

Research at a Glance: An international study has found the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin prevents dangerous bacterial complications of scabies in Fiji when delivered on mass scale The drug was administered to the whole population of ...

When it comes to seeking medical care after an animal bite, experts say ‘make it snappy’ to avoid an infection that’s worse than the bite. (CAIRNS, Friday 18 March 2022) Snake, dog and cat bites were responsible for the majority of ...

New COVID-19 prevalence survey launches Australia will soon have its first estimates of how many people contracted COVID-19 during the Omicron wave. Routine COVID-19 reporting is based on a positive PCR or rapid test result and may ...

A study in 35 Fijian villages has found one dose of the anti-parasite drug, ivermectin, was just as effective as two doses, taken a week apart, at significantly reducing the spread of the scabies parasite. The small mite causes ...

A team of Australian researchers and clinicians from UNSW Sydney’s Kirby Institute and St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney have uncovered an immune profile for long COVID, potentially paving the way for tailored treatment for those with ...

40 years after the first case of AIDS was described in the United States, the number of people diagnosed with HIV in Australia is at an all-time low. (SYDNEY, Wednesday 1 December 2021) Across Australia, there were 633 new diagnoses of ...

An analysis by the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney published in the lead up to World AIDS Day reveals that HIV is ‘virally suppressed’ in only 59% of children and adolescents on treatment. Globally, less than two thirds of children ...

(SYDNEY, Thursday 18 November 2021) Vaccines are less effective against some COVID-19 variants and boosting may be required within one year to maintain efficacy above 50%, according to a new study published today in Lancet Microbe. The

A new national report released today highlights a decline in hepatitis C testing and treatment uptake, putting Australia at risk of not achieving its target of eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030. The report ...

This major investment will increase access to hepatitis C testing, treatment and cures - through scale up of new ‘point-of-care' testing across the country.  (SYDNEY, Monday 20 September 2021) The Australian Government Department ...

(SYDNEY, Monday 2 August 2021) At least 15% of people in bushfire affected areas of Australia reported experiencing adverse health effects during the severe summer bushfires of 2019–2020, according to a survey of over 1,000 people, ...