Virus WAtch Week Ending 18 January 2015 Influenza and Influenza-like Illnesses (ILI) Summary: Influenza and non-influenza respiratory virus activity remain low and at inter-seasonal levels. ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs) remain low. Routine and sentinel detections of influenza virus remain low, with influenza A/H3N2 constituting the majority of subtyped viruses; influenza A/H1N1 and influenza B continue to co-circulate. Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses were low. Gastroenteritis Presentations to sentinel GPs remain elevated and above […]

There will be a delay to the start of the National Seasonal Influenza Immunisation Program in 2015.  There are no firm dates yet for when vaccines will be available, but it is not likely to be until April.  More information will be provided in February. The 2015 southern hemisphere influenza vaccine will contain two different strains to the 2014 vaccine, and this double-strain change has resulted in manufacturing delays. Please see additional information in the attached letter below: AS Letter […]

Virus WAtch Week Ending 11 January 2015 Influenza and Influenza-like Illnesses (ILI) Summary: Influenza and non-influenza respiratory virus activity remain low and at inter-seasonal levels. ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs) remain low. Routine and sentinel detections of influenza virus remain low, with influenza A/H3N2, influenza A/H1N1, and influenza B co-circulating. Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses were low. Gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis presentations to sentinel EDs decreased this week, but remain above baseline levels. Presentations to sentinel […]

Virus WAtch Week Ending 4 January 2015 Influenza and Influenza-like Illnesses (ILI) Summary: Influenza and non-influenza respiratory virus activity remain low and at inter-seasonal levels. ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs) remain low. There were no routine or sentinel detections of influenza virus this week. Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses continue to fluctuate at low levels. Gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis presentations to sentinel GPs and sentinel EDs remain well above baseline levels. Norovirus detections have declined over […]

The Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC) is collating a response on the draft standard which will be forwarded via the on line response process as well as directly to Standards Australia. The College and Standards Australia is asking for interested parties to review the document and provide comments relating to the sections that you believe need changing or are contradictory. The draft AS1071 document  is only valid until 5th February when submissions close. To access the draft copy on the […]

The recently revised AS/NZS 4187:2014 is now available for access and can be purchased via the following link http://infostore.saiglobal.com/store/Details.aspx?ProductID=1773923

Virus WAtch Week Ending 14 December 2014 Influenza and Influenza-like Illnesses (ILI) Summary: Influenza and non-influenza respiratory virus activity is low and at inter-seasonal levels. ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs) remain low. Routine and sentinel detections of influenza virus remain low. Influenza A/H3N2, influenza A/H1N1 and influenza B continue to co-circulate at low levels. Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses continue to fluctuate at low levels. Gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis presentations to sentinel GPs decreased this week, […]

Virus WAtch Week Week Ending 7 December 2014 Influenza and Influenza-like Illnesses (ILI) Summary: Influenza activity is low and at inter-seasonal level. ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs) remain low. Routine and sentinel detections of influenza virus remain low. Influenza A/H3N2, influenza A/H1N1 and influenza B continue to co-circulate at low levels. Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses are fluctuating at low levels. Gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis presentations to sentinel GPs decreased this week but remain in the […]

Antimicrobial Stewardship Clinical Care Standard During November, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) launched the Antimicrobial Stewardship Clinical Care Standard – the first standard that applies to clinical practice to be launched in Australia. Australia has one of the highest rates of antibiotic use in the developed world. Although antimicrobial resistance is a natural feature of bacterial evolution, the inappropriate use of antibiotics has increased the development of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in hospitals and healthcare facilities and […]

Virus WAtch Week Ending 30 November 2014 Influenza and Influenza-like Illnesses (ILI) Summary: Influenza activity is low and at inter-seasonal level. ILI presentations to sentinel general practitioners (GPs) and emergency departments (EDs) remain low. Routine and sentinel detections of influenza virus remain low. Influenza A/H3N2 and influenza B continue to co-circulate at low levels. Detections of non-influenza respiratory viruses decreased this week. Gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis presentations to sentinel GPs nearly doubled this week. Gastroenteritis presentations to sentinel EDs remain above baseline […]