Refugee and Migrant Health
Introduction Managing the health of refugees and migrants can be complex. Many refugees have little experience of organised healthcare, and may have come from places of extreme poverty and danger…
Respiratory Infections
General Overview Respiratory disorders in children are extremely common. The incidence generally decline with age, such that in middle teenage years, they are rare. Children <5 will have on average…
Erythem marginatum. Image from Dermnet. Used in accordance with Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 (New Zealand) license.
Rheumatic Fever
Introduction Rheumatic fever was a common infectious disease until around the middle of the 20th century, and was a major cause of childhood mortality and rheumatic (structural) heart disease. In…
Ross River Virus
Introduction Ross River virus is a virus that causes an infectious disease known as Ross River Fever (aka endemic polyarthritis). It is spread by mosquitos, seen throughout Australia, most commonly in Queensland, as…
Rubella (German Measles)
Introduction Most common in winter/spring Generally not very severe in children Can causes severe fetal development problems if contracted by a pregnant woman. Spontaneous abortion occurs in 20% of cases…
Schistosomiasis
Introduction Schistomiasis, also known as Bilharziasis is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms which infect the urinary tract or intestinal tract. It can cause a wide range of symptoms, including…
Sepsis and SIRS
Definitions Before discussing SIRS along with the various sepsis syndromes, it is important to understand some basic definitions. Infection: This is the inflammatory response initiated by the presence of a…
Strongyloides
Introduction Strongyloides is a type of threadworm that commonly infections humans and other mammals. It is much less common in developed countries than another type of threadworm - pinworms. Colloquially,…