Modern Applied Epidemiology: Neglected Tropical Diseases, Disease Surveillance, Hospital Acquired Infections and Health Product Regulation

Abstract

This thesis details the requirements for completing the Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) at the Australian National University. My primary placement was at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. I undertook four projects addressing each of the major MAE competencies. The first was a data analysis piece examining the epidemiology of Buruli Ulcer (BU) in Victoria and an examination of BU laboratory testing patterns. The second project contributed to the development and early review of surveillance for acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in Victoria, including scoping a register. The third project was an epidemiology study that explored the utility of existing datasets to describe hospital onset bacteraemia at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. The final project explored regulatory actions undertaken by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in response to an outbreak of Ralstonia pickettii in a contaminated medical product. Alongside each project is a description of my role, lessons learnt and public health implications. Minor MAE competencies have been discussed throughout the thesis. Show more