Communicable Diseases Surveillance - Additional reports

This report published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 23, No 5, 13 May 1999 contains tables of monthly disease surveillance data.

Page last updated: 18 May 1999

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


Serious Adverse Events Following Vaccination Surveillance Scheme

The Serious Adverse Events Following Vaccination Surveillance Scheme is a national surveillance scheme which monitors the serious adverse events that occur rarely following vaccination. More details of the scheme were published in Commun Dis Intell 1999:23;58.

Acceptance of a report does not imply a causal relationship between administration of the vaccine and the medical outcome, or that the report has been verified as to the accuracy of its contents.

It is estimated that 250,000 doses of vaccines are administered every month to Australian children under the age of six years.

Results for the reporting period 1 February 1999 to 30 April 1999.

There were 219 reports of serious adverse events following vaccination for this reporting period (Table 6). Onset dates were from 1997 to 1998, the majority (96%) being in 1998. Reports were received from Australian Capital Territory (19), Northern Territory (2), Queensland (99), South Australia (11), Tasmania (1), Victoria (15) and Western Australia (72). No reports were received from New South Wales for this period. The majority of reports received were from Queensland (45%).

The most frequently reported events following vaccination were persistent screaming (119 cases, 55%), followed by other reactions (44 cases, 20%), temperature of 40.5oC or more (25 cases, 11.4%) and hypotonic/hyporesponsive episodes (18 cases, 8%).

Twenty-one of the 219 cases were hospitalised of which 20 had recovered at the time of reporting. There was incomplete information on recovery status on 17 cases while all the other cases had recovered at the time of reporting.

One hundred and ninety-six (89%) cases were associated with Diptheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTP), vaccine either alone or in combination with other vaccines. Of these 61% of reports were associated with the first dose of DTP and 32% with the second dose.

Table 6. Adverse events following vaccination reported in the period 1 February to 30 April 19991

Event
Vaccines Reporting States or Territories Total reports for this period
DTP DTP/ Hib DTP/ OPV/ Hib DTP/ OPV/ Other DTP/ OPV/ MMR DTP/ OPV/ Hib/ Hep B DTP/ MMR MMR Hib/ OPV/ Other Hep B/ Other Hep B Other1
Persistent screaming
74
3
40
1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ACT, Qld, Vic, WA
118
Hypotonic/ Hyporesponsive
8
1
8
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
Qld, SA, Vic, WA
18
Temperature
18
 
6
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1
 
ACT, Qld, Vic, WA
25
Convulsions
3
1
1
 
 
 
 
 
1
 
 
 
ACT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA
6
Anaphylaxis
 
1
 
 
 
 
1
2
1
 
 
 
 
5
Other
19
2
8
 
1
1
 
2
2
1
2
6
ACT, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA
44
Total
122
8
63
1
1
1
1
4
4
1
3
7
 
2162

1. Includes influenza vaccination, DTPa, CDT, OPV, Hepatitis B vaccine, pneumococcal vaccination, BCG, ADT and rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG)
2. Three cases have missing events

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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.au/nchecr.

HIV and AIDS diagnoses and deaths following AIDS reported for 1 to 31 December 1998, as reported to 31 March 1999, are included in this issue of Commun Dis Intell (Tables 7 and 8).

Table 7. New diagnoses of HIV infection, new diagnoses of AIDS and deaths following AIDS occurring in the period 1 to 31 December 1998, 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
1
0
2
5
4
90
77
  Male
0
14
2
8
1
0
11
0
36
53
622
703
  Sex not reported
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
8
13
  Total1
0
17
2
8
1
1
11
2
42
58
622
794
AIDS diagnoses Female
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
3
15
27
  Male
1
12
1
0
0
0
4
0
18
27
249
324
  Total1
1
14
1
0
0
1
4
0
21
30
265
351
AIDS deaths Female
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
14
  Male
0
2
0
2
0
0
5
0
9
11
136
220
  Total1
0
2
0
2
0
0
5
0
9
11
144
235

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


Table 8. Cumulative diagnoses of HIV infection, AIDS and deaths following AIDS since the introduction of HIV antibody testing to 31 December 1998, by sex and State or Territory

  State or Territory Australia
ACT NSW NT Qld SA Tas Vic WA
HIV diagnoses Female
22
580
8
131
57
5
199
102
1,104
  Male
186
10,499
104
1,863
648
77
3,749
869
17,995
  Sex not reported
0
259
0
0
0
0
24
0
283
  Total1
208
11,357
112
2,001
705
82
3,985
974
19,424
AIDS diagnoses Female
8
169
0
45
20
3
67
25
337
  Male
85
4,514
33
784
326
43
1,583
343
7,711
  Total1
93
4,695
33
831
346
46
1,657
370
8,071
AIDS deaths Female
2
113
0
30
15
2
47
16
225
  Male
63
3,115
24
547
224
28
1,235
244
5,480
  Total1
65
3,235
24
579
239
30
1,288
261
5,721


This article was published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 23, No 5, 13 May 1999.

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This issue - Vol 23, No 5, 13 May 1999