Applied Epidemiology of Communicable Diseases in the Australian Capital Territory

Abstract

This thesis was developed as a requirement for the Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE). It presents four projects and additional public health experience undertaken during my placement within the Communicable Disease Control Section at the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Health Directorate, between February 2022 and December 2023. The first chapter describes my MAE experience and field placement and outlines the activities I undertook to meet the MAE competencies. The second chapter presents an analysis of notifications data for sexually transmissible infections and blood borne viruses in the ACT between 2013 and 2022 and considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on notification rates. The third chapter details the investigation of an outbreak of salmonellosis associated with the consumption of food from a Canberra kebab shop and discusses the likely mechanism of the outbreak. The fourth chapter presents an evaluation of the ACT Adverse Events Following Immunisation Reporting System following changes to the system in 2021 to accommodate COVID-19 vaccination. The fifth chapter reports a study into the epidemiology of gonococcal infections and reinfections in the ACT between 2017 and 2022 and case-case analysis investigating the risk factors for gonococcal reinfections. The final chapter details my teaching experience in field epidemiology. The projects and experiences detailed in this thesis demonstrate my completion of the competency requirements of the MAE program and contribute to the overall body of knowledge in field epidemiology.