Background Information

Question 1

What is the largest cause of child deaths globally?

Answer 1

Globally, infectious diseases, including acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and malaria, along with pre-term birth complications, birth asphyxia and trauma and congenital anomalies remain the leading causes of death for children under 5.

In 2010 accounted for > 11 million deaths per year in LMICs.

https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/topics/topic-details/GHO/child-mortality-and-causes-of-death

Question 2

What are the three main causes of communicable disease deaths in children and adolescents globally?

Answer 2

Enteric infections, lower-respiratory-tract infections and malaria accounted for 59·8% of the global communicable disease burden in children and adolescents, with tuberculosis and HIV both emerging as important causes during adolescence.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00860-7/fulltext

Question 3

What are the 8 reasons for why communicable diseases are still a significant public health issue in high-income countries.

Answer 3

1. **Globalisation **(rapid global spread e.g. COVID-19)
2. Re-emergence of old scourges (e.g. TB, measles)
3. Novel infections (e.g. SARS, COVID-19)
4. Evolution of existing pathogens leading to new risks (e.g. zoonotic disease threats, pandemic influenzas)
5. Resistance to therapeutic agents
6. Hospital acquired infections (e.g. MRSA)
7. Burden on long-term conditions (e.g. HIV/AIDS)
8. **Viral cause of certain cancers **(e.g. cervical cancer)

Question 4

Define: incubation period

Answer 4

Also called ‘subclinical period’. Time between **infection and onset of symptoms. **Duration may be affected by infecting dose. Assists to determine when infection occurred and who might be a contact.

Question 5

Define: latent period

Answer 5

Time between infection and beginning of infectiousness. Typically shorter than the incubation period i.e. meaning there is a period of subclinical infectiousness.

Question 7

What is the mnemonic for CD outbreak framework?

Answer 7

Intro - BPUF + concurrently
Prelim - TCRRRETM - doesn’t apply
Team - see OCT below
Stakeholders - IE CCPRING - OzFoodNet, FSANZ, affected business / industry, animal health, general public, clinicians, peaks (e.g. ACON)

P C I F E E R C M

Puppies Can Immediately Fly Even Every Really Cold Morning

Prepare - SoNG, case def, OCT = PHP, PHN, EHO, Epi, comms, secretariat

Confirm outbreak - obs > exp, artefact

Immediate control measures

Formulate - case def - tpppp, crf, line list, active case finding

Epi - descriptive, epi curve, analytical

Environmental - site visit/sample

Respond and manage - immediate control, humans (case/contact), env - food recall / alert, agent

Communicate - cho, media, cases/contacts

Monitor - new cases, 2xinc, report, debrief,

Question 8

Which communicable diseases use Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP)?

Answer 8

Anthrax - vaccine, ABx
Diphtheria - DTP + ABx
Measles - immunoglobulin, vaccination
HIV - HAART
Hep A - immunoglobulin, vaccination
Hep B - immunoglobulin, vaccination
iGAS - ABx
IMD - ABx
Pertussis - ABx
Plague - ABx
Rabies/lyssavirus - HRIG, vaccination
Tetanus - tetanus immunoglobulin, DTP vaccine
Varicella zoster - immunoglobulin, vaccination