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In the fight against mosquito-borne diseases, countries in the Pacific Island region face unique challenges. For this reason, the Pacific Mosquito Surveillance Strengthening for Impact (PacMOSSI) program was launched to support Pacific Island countries as they work to combat these devastating diseases.

Throughout history, we've seen a consistent pattern of infectious diseases emerge and re-emerge. This underscores the importance of ensuring our health systems are well-prepared and equipped with effective disease surveillance. New research from the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) seeks to determine how well disease control is being governed in Australia.

In 2022, mainland Australia experienced its first outbreak of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). As a result, 45 people were infected and six lost their lives. Researchers at the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) have identified areas at risk of future outbreaks to inform public health planning.

Australia has one of the highest rates of food allergies in the world, with more than 1.5 people living with a food allergy — and they’re on the rise. There has been a 51 per cent increase in anaphylaxis presentations to emergency departments over the past 5 years, growing to more than 11,500 per year.

The Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) researchers are exploring a new theory on how the chemistry of the brain causes people to form political opinions.

Australians are developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) at an increasing rate. These IBD sufferers have a higher chance of later developing bowel cancer. The AITHM Senior Research Fellow Dr Roland Ruscher is charting the lifespan of a gut immune cell linked to the onset of bowel cancer and IBD.

Restrictions on public access to information about health service delivery, combined with reliance on health data sources that are not fit for purpose, are hindering the provision of adequate health care to Northern Queensland rural and remote communities.  

Annually, around 400 million people worldwide contract dengue and some 40,000 lives are lost to the disease. A viral infection, dengue is spread by Aedes mosquitoes. Seasonal outbreaks of dengue were common in the North Queensland city of Townsville — prior to the strategic release of mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia, a naturally occurring bacteria which disarms their ability to transmit dengue to humans.

James Cook University (JCU) is spearheading a project which aims to revolutionise the delivery of digital health care to rural and remote communities in Northern Australia, through technical expansion and innovation, upskilling healthcare providers, and patient education.

Public health officials from 12 Pacific Island countries are visiting the James Cook University (JCU) Cairns campus this week for training that will help protect their communities from mosquito-borne diseases.

A JCU-led project has created a unique, interactive health map of North Queensland. The open-access resource provides a clearer picture of unmet community health needs, which have been exacerbated by crucial gaps in information sharing between multiple health systems in the region.

Shellfish are the number one food-related trigger of fatal allergic reactions in Australia. New research led by Dr Thimo Ruethers shows that one of the most common methods for diagnosing shellfish allergies can yield unreliable results.

In a world first, a JCU PhD researcher, backed by a crack interdisciplinary research team, has identified protein families with significant anti-inflammatory benefits – in hookworm saliva. The discovery paves the way for developing conventional treatment delivery, such as capsules or injections, to supersede infecting patients with live worms to achieve similar results.

A JCU PhD researcher who took to the sea to pursue a world-first study into the environmental triggers that guide the elusive Irukandji jellyfish has dispelled one theory – that wind patterns nudge them closer to beaches – and generated other new data which could aid future strategies to help keep swimmers safe.

JCU has secured Townsville a place in a national stroke rehabilitation trial – the first of its kind in the world. The North Queensland city is the only regional centre in Australia participating in the study.

AITHM researchers have compiled a landmark guide to mosquitoes in the Pacific to help nations in the region, including Australia, stay one step ahead of disease-carrying species that are on the move and triggering unprecedented outbreaks.