Communicable Diseases Surveillance - Additional reports

This report published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 23, No 3, 18 March 1999 contains quarterly reports and data from a number of disease surveillance programs which report regularly to CDI.

Page last updated: 21 June 1999

A print friendly PDF version is available from this Communicable Diseases Intelligence issue's table of contents.


Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Programme

Sentinel chicken flocks are used to monitor flavivirus activity in Australia. The main viruses of concern are Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) and Kunjin which cause the potentially fatal disease Australian encephalitis in humans. Currently 26 flocks are maintained in the north of Western Australia, seven in the Northern Territory, nine in New South Wales and ten in Victoria. The flocks in Western Australia and the Northern Territory are tested year round but those in New South Wales and Victoria are tested only from November to March, during the main risk season.

Results are coordinated by the Arbovirus Laboratory in Perth and reported bimonthly. For more information see Commun Dis Intell 1999;23:57-58

AK Broom,1 JS Mackenzie,2 L Melville,3 DW Smith4 and PI Whelan5

1. Department of Microbiology, The University of Western Australia
2. Department of Microbiology, The University of Queensland
3. Berrimah Agricultural Research Centre, Northern Territory
4. PathCentre, Western Australia
5. Department of Health and Community Services, Northern Territory


March/April 1999

Sentinel chicken serology was carried out for 26 of the 27 flocks in Western Australia in March and April 1999. There were a large number of seroconversions to flaviviruses in both the Kimberley and Pilbara flocks during this period. The number of chickens positive for flavivirus antibodies by ELISA and the virus (or viruses) they were infected with is shown in Table 8. In addition there were also a number of unconfirmed seroconversions to MVE virus (not shown in the table) from Broome and Derby in the Kimberley and from Pardoo and Newman in the Pilbara.

Serum samples from all of the seven Northern Territory sentinel chicken flocks were tested in our laboratory in March and April 1999. There was one seroconversion to MVE in the Beatrice Hill Farm flock (near Darwin) in March. In addition there were two seroconversions during April 1999, one to MVE at Gove and one to a flavivirus only from Leanyer. The April seroconversions have not yet been confirmed.

The sentinel chicken programs in Victoria and New South Wales have now finished for the season.

Details of the locations of all chicken flocks are given in Commun Dis Intell 1999;23:57-58.

Table 8. Flavivirus seroconversions in Western Australian sentinel chicken flocks in March and April 1999

Location
March 1999 April 1999
MVE KUN MVE/KUN FLAVI MVE KUN MVE/KUN
Kimberley
Kalumburu
4
 
1
 
 
 
 
Wyndham
3
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kununurra
1
 
 
 
 
 
 
Halls Creek
7
 
 
 
1
 
 
Fitzroy Crossing
5
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pilbara
Port Hedland
 
 
 
 
4
1
 
Harding Dam*
5
 
 
 
12
 
 
Pardoo
4
 
2
1
 
 
 
Tom Price
4
 
1
 
5
 
1
Paraburdoo
4
 
1
 
3
1
 
Onslow
 
 
 
 
3
 
 
Newman*
5
1
 
 
1
 
 
Gascoyne
Carnarvon
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

* 2 flocks of 12 chickens at these sites
MVE - Antibodies to Murray Valley encephalitis virus detected by ELISA
KUN - Antibodies to Kunjin virus detected by ELISA
MVE/KUN - Antibodies to both MVE and KUN viruses detected by ELISA
FLAVI - Antibodies to a flavivirus only (not MVE or KUN) detected by ELISA

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HIV and AIDS Surveillance

National surveillance for HIV disease is coordinated by the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR), in collaboration with State and Territory health authorities and the Commonwealth of Australia. Cases of HIV infection are notified to the National HIV Database on the first occasion of diagnosis in Australia, by either the diagnosing laboratory (ACT, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria) or by a combination of laboratory and doctor sources (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia). Cases of AIDS are notified through the State and Territory health authorities to the National AIDS Registry. Diagnoses of both HIV infection and AIDS are notified with the person's date of birth and name code, to minimise duplicate notifications while maintaining confidentiality.

Tabulations of diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS are based on data available three months after the end of the reporting interval indicated, to allow for reporting delay and to incorporate newly available information. More detailed information on diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS is published in the quarterly Australian HIV Surveillance Report, and annually in HIV/AIDS and related diseases in Australia Annual Surveillance Report. The reports are available from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, 376 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010. Telephone: (02) 9332 4648; Facsimile: (02) 9332 1837; http://www.med.unsw.edu.qu/nchecr.

HIV and AIDS diagnoses and deaths following AIDS reported for 1 to 31 January 1999, as reported to 30 April 1999, are included in this issue of Commun Dis Intell (Tables 9 and 10).

Table 9. New diagnoses of HIV infection, new diagnoses of AIDS and deaths following AIDS occurring in the period 1 to 31 January 1999, by sex and State or Territory of diagnosis

  State or territory Totals for Australia
ACT NSW NT Qld SA Tas Vic WA This period 1999 This period 1998 Year to date 1999 Year to date 1998
HIV diagnoses Female
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
2
3
2
  Male
0
23
0
8
1
0
8
3
43
62
43
62
  Sex not reported
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
  Total1
0
25
0
8
1
0
9
4
47
64
47
64
AIDS diagnoses Female
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
  Male
0
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
4
26
4
26
  Total1
0
3
0
0
0
0
1
0
4
28
4
28
AIDS deaths Female
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
  Male
0
7
0
5
0
0
3
1
16
12
16
12
  Total1
0
8
0
5
0
0
3
1
17
12
17
12

1. Persons whose sex was reported as transgender are included in the totals.


Table 10. Cumulative diagnoses of HIV infection, AIDS and deaths following AIDS since the introduction of HIV antibody testing to 30 April 1999, by sex and State or Territory

State or Territory Australia
ACT NSW NT Qld SA Tas Vic WA
HIV diagnoses Female
22
582
8
131
57
5
199
103
1,107
  Male
187
10,521
104
1,871
649
77
3,757
872
18,038
  Sex not reported
0
259
0
0
0
0
25
0
284
  Total1
209
11,381
112
2,009
706
82
3,994
978
19,471
AIDS diagnoses Female
8
169
0
45
20
3
67
26
338
  Male
85
4,517
33
784
326
44
1,584
343
7,716
  Total1
93
4,698
33
831
346
47
1,658
371
8,077
AIDS deaths Female
2
113
0
30
15
2
47
16
225
  Male
63
3,122
24
552
224
28
1,238
245
5,496
  Total1
65
3,243
24
584
239
30
1,291
262
5,738



This article was published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 23, No 6, 10 June 1999.

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This issue - Vol 23, No 6, 10 June 1999