Researchers have confirmed that Australia experienced an intense surge in severe Strep A cases, similar to the northern hemisphere wave, despite differences in seasons and circulating respiratory viruses.
While iGAS infections are still uncommon, there has been a slight increase in cases reported this year in Ireland, particularly in children aged under 10, and a small number of deaths
Researchers have successfully developed a new Strep A human challenge model, paving the way to test vaccines against the common deadly bacteria that causes sore throats, scarlet fever and skin sores.
Self- or caregiver swabs are as effective as healthcare worker swabs for detecting pathogens
Self swabs and caregiver swabs are effective at detecting multiple pathogens and are just as accurate as those taken by healthcare workers, according to a team of Australian researchers. The research appears in the
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology.
Across the range of pathogens and swab types, there was high agreement between results from self- or caregiver swabs and those performed by a healthcare worker, even when different sites were swabbed (e.g. nasopharyngeal vs. nasal)."
Joshua Osowicki, BMedSci, MBBS, FRACP, Principal Investigator, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Physician in the Murdoch Children's Research Institute's Tropical Diseases Research Group
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Washington, DC - January 28, 2021 - Self swabs and caregiver swabs are effective at detecting multiple pathogens and are just as accurate as those taken by healthcare workers, according to a team of Australian researchers. The research appears in the
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology.
"Across the range of pathogens and swab types, there was high agreement between results from self- or caregiver swabs and those performed by a healthcare worker, even when different sites were swabbed (e.g. nasopharyngeal vs. nasal)," said principal investigator Joshua Osowicki, BMedSci, MBBS, FRACP, a Pediatric Infectious Diseases physician in the Murdoch Children's Research Institute's Tropical Diseases research group, Melbourne, Australia.