Infectious Diseases

Contact

Dr Christopher Blyth | Infectious Diseases 
christopher.blyth@uwa.edu.au

Departmental Overview 

The Department of Infectious Diseases seeks to create a healthier start to life for all children through the prompt management and prevention of infectious diseases. In collaboration with research partners, particularly the Wesfarmers Centre for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases at The Kids Research Institute Australia, the Department mission is to lead paediatric infectious disease clinical care, education and research in our city, state, country and region and ensure translation into practice and policy to improving the lives of children. 

Research Projects

Some of the key research projects are:

'Healthy Skin' Projects

(e.g. SToP trial, Missing Piece project, Urban Healthy Skin Project)

Led by Asha Bowen, these projects seek to understand the burden and microbiology of skin disease in Aboriginal children, explore the pathogenesis of complications including acute rheumatic fever and optimise treatment and prevention strategies for downstream complications of Group A Streptococcal and S. aureus infections

Staphylococcus aureus Projects 

(e.g. ISAIAH; a prospective multicentred cohort study examining the paediatric clinical and microbiological epidemiology of S. aureus bacteraemia; CASSETTE: Clindamycin Adjunctive therapy for Severe Staphylococcus aureus Treatment Evaluation)

Led by Anita Campbell and Asha Bowen, these projects seek to understand the contemporary burden of invasive S aureus infections and optimise, through multi-centred clinical trials, the management of severe S. aureus infection.

Cystic Fibrosis Projects 

(e.g. BEAT-CF: Bayesian Evidence Adaptive Trial to optimise management of Cystic Fibrosis; IMPACT-CF: Improving the methodology for patient-centred trials in cystic fibrosis)

 Led by Charlie McLeod and Tom Snelling, in collaboration with The Kids Research Institute Australia and the Department of Respiratory Medicine, these projects will optimising outcomes in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis, designing patient and parent reported outcomes and using an adaptive trial methodology to optimising antimicrobial treatment).

Bone and Joint infection Projects 

(e.g. WARSABI: A prospective cohort study of hospitalised children admitted to PMH/PCH with osteoarticular infections)

Led by Charlie McLeod, in collaboration with The Kids Research Institute Australia and the Department of Orthopaedics, the project describes the contemporary epidemiology, microbiology and outcomes of children with bone and joint infections and seeks to design predictive tools that can be designed for use at the bed side

Fungal infection Projects 

(e.g. TERIFIC: The Epidemiology and Risk Factors for Invasive Fungal Infections in immunocompromised Children; Invasive fungal infection in children with haematological malignancy)

Led by Daniel Yeoh, in collaboration with the Department of Haematology and Oncology, these multi-centred projects seeks to describe the epidemiology of invasive fungal infection and evaluate diagnostic, prevention and treatment pathways for children with or at risk of invasive fungal infection.

Pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Infection Projects 

(e.g. PATRIC: Pragmatic Adaptive Trial for Respiratory Infection in Childhood; PneumoBNA: Using Bayesian network models to facilitate a microbiological diagnosis in childhood pneumonia; PNG-Aetiology & PneuCAPTIVE: Prospective pneumonia cohort studies in the PNG highlands)

Led by Chris Blyth and in collaboration with The Kids Research Institute Australia, Departments of General Paediatrics and PCH Emergency Department and Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research, these studies seek to optimise the diagnosis, management and prevention of children with acute respiratory infection both in Australia and internationally. Specifically, they seek to test varying management strategies using a registry and platform trial, use Bayesian networks to optimising pneumonia diagnostics and evaluate both pneumococcal and influenza vaccination programs in Australia and PNG.

Influenza Projects 

(e.g. PAEDS-FluCAN; P3FluKids)

Led by Chris Blyth, in collaboration with The Kids Research Institute Australia and paediatric hospitals Australia wide, these studies provide real-time influenza surveillance data to public health authorities during the influenza season. In addition, data are used to assess compliance with antiviral and immunisation recommendation and assess the direct and indirect benefits of influenza vaccination. P3FluKids is a multimodal strategy which will be used to improve and assess influenza vaccination coverage in those at greatest risk of disease.

Rheumatic Heart Disease and Group A Streptococcal Projects

Led by Jonathan Carapetis, The Kids Research Institute Australia RHD and Strep A team is conducting research to optimise the diagnosis, prevention and management of rheumatic heart disease, and lead the enduring challenge of developing an effective Strep A vaccine (through leadership of ASAVI – the Australian Strep A Vaccine Initiative), with the objective of eliminating RHD in Australia and controlling RHD and Strep A diseases globally.

Human Vaccines Project

Additional Infectious Diseases and Immunisation Research Projects