Research into infectious diseases
Research overview
Researchers at the University of Melbourne are working to improve health through research and the prevention, treatment and cure of infectious diseases.
See also The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory
Projects we're involved with
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Asia-Pacific Vaccine Research Network
An Australian Awards Fellowship program to build regional capacity in evidence-based decision-making for immunisation policy and programs, and help address country priorities.
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Australian Centre of research Excellence in Malaria Elimination
The Australian Centre of Research Excellence in Malaria Elimination Modern Acceleration Strategies for Eradication of Malaria in the Asia-Pacific (ACREME MASTER-MAP) aims to develop novel solutions and high-quality evidence to inform policies and practices that address the major barriers in malaria elimination: failing diagnostic tests, drug and vector resistance, and lack of key preventative strategies.
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Bulabula MaPei: a randomised controlled trial to prevent maternal and infant infections in Fiji
Infections are a leading cause of neonatal mortality globally and can be transmitted from mother-to-child vertically or horizontally. Fiji has higher rates of serious neonatal infections and infant skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) than high-income countries. The Bulabula MaPei clinical trial evaluates the safety and efficacy of a single dose of azithromycin in labour in reducing the incidence of maternal and infant SSTIs and other infections and the impact on bacterial carriage.
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Combat AMR
COMBAT-AMR works in partnership with government, National AMR Committees and public health counterparts in Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, to implement capacity building and training activities to support the prevention, diagnosis, surveillance and management of AMR pathogens, under the framework of National AMR Action Plans and priorities.
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Centre of Research Excellence in Tuberculosis Control on both sides of our border.
The Centre of Research Excellence in Tuberculosis Control on Both Sides of our Border is an interdisciplinary Centre of Research Excellence funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council over 5 years.
- Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy With Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine Plus Dihydroartemisinin-Piperaquine to Reduce Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Prevent Malaria in Papua New Guinea: A Randomised Controlled Trial
- Monoclonal Antibodies to Placental Malaria Antigen VAR2CSA
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Optimising the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine schedule for immunisation policy decision making
Universal immunisation is the cornerstone of preventive medicine for children, The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine administered at 6, 10 and 14 weeks of age as part of routine immunisation. However, globally, more than 17 unique DTP-containing vaccine schedules are in use. New vaccines for other diseases continue to be introduced into the infant immunisation schedule, resulting in an increasingly crowded schedule.
The OptImms trial will assess whether antibody titres against pertussis and other antigens in childhood can be maintained whilst adjusting the current Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) schedule to provide space for the introduction of new vaccines.
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Pneumococcal Disease Control in Asia Pacific Countries
Using PCV is a high public health priority. Poor countries in the Asia-Pacific lag behind in using PCV. Lack of accurate disease burden estimates and unknown PCV impact from the region contribute. New ways to determine disease burden, monitor impact and early prevention ( a clinical trial) will be explored in countries in the Asia- Pacific using established networks and field sites.
- Preparing Fiji for Pathogens With Critical Antimicrobial Resistance
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SPARK (Strengthening Preparedness in the Asia-Pacific Region through Knowledge)
SPARK is aimed at strengthening preparedness in the Asia-Pacific region through knowledge, under the ASEAN-Pacific Infectious Disease and Response program (APIDDaR). It uses quantitative methods and modelling to strengthen regional capacity, develop innovative tools for adaptive decision making to inform disease prevention control and elimination.
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Systematic Community-Wide Engagement and Elimination Project for TB (SWEEP-TB)
SWEEP-TB is a community-centred public health project conducted by the Western Province tuberculosis (TB) partnership that will screen all residents of Daru, Papua New Guinea to detect, treat and prevent TB, using a comprehensive package of existing and novel tools.
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TB Control in an Endemic Setting: Socio-Cultural Knowledge to Design Context Specific Public Health Promotion, Solutions and Actions in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea has among the highest TB incidence rates in the world, with rates in particular areas considerably higher. This three-year qualitative study will examine the socio-cultural contexts of TB control programs. The project outcome will be better contextualised solutions to improve the effectiveness of TB control programs and therefore the spread of TB and its drug resistant forms.
- Typhoid Vaccine Implementation in Fiji
Our partners
- Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Indo-Pacific Centre for Health Security
- Baru Conservation Alliance, Solomon Islands
- Colonial War Memorial Hospital Fiji
- Fiji Centre for Disease Control
- Fiji National University
- International Vaccine Institute
- Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie
- Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of Samoa
- Ministry of Agriculture, Fiji
- Ministry of Health, Kiribati
- Ministry of Health, Vanuatu
- Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Fiji
- National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority, Papua-New Guinea
- Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research
- Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa
- Solomon Islands Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock
- Solomon Islands Ministry of Health & Medical Services
- Tungaru Central Hospital, Kiribati
- University of Papua New Guinea
- Vets beyond borders, Vanuatu
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance
- WHO Collaborating Centre for Child and Neonatal Health Research and Training
- World Health Organisation Western Pacific
Our people
Prof Glenn Browning
Prof Jodie McVernon
Recent publications
Our researchers contribute to a large range of publicly-accessible publications.
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See all recent publications
Aitken, E.H., Damelang, T., Ortega-Pajares, A., Alemu, A., Hasang, W., Dini, S., Unger, H.W., Ome-Kaius, M., Nielsen, M.A., Salanti, A. and Smith, J., 2021. Developing a multivariate prediction model of antibody features associated with protection of malaria-infected pregnant women from placental malaria. Elife, 10, p.e65776. Link
Bainomugisa, A., Lavu, E., Pandey, S., Majumdar, S., Banamu, J., Coulter, C., Marais, B., Coin, L., Graham, S.M. and du Cros, P., 2022. Evolution and spread of a highly drug resistant strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Papua New Guinea. BMC Infectious Diseases, 22(1), p.437. Link
Baker, C.M., Campbell, P.T., Chades, I., Dean, A.J., Hester, S.M., Holden, M.H., McCaw, J.M., McVernon, J., Moss, R., Shearer, F.M. and Possingham, H.P., 2022. From climate change to pandemics: decision science can help scientists have impact. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10. Link
Barua, P., Duffy, M.F., Manning, L., Laman, M., Davis, T.M., Mueller, I., Haghiri, A., Simpson, J.A., Beeson, J.G. and Rogerson, S.J., 2023. Antibody to Plasmodium falciparum variant surface antigens, var gene transcription and ABO blood group in children with severe or uncomplicated malaria. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, p.jiad217. Link
Batura, N., et al. 2021. Point-of-care testing and treatment of sexually transmitted and genital infections during pregnancy in Papua New Guinea (WANTAIM trial): protocol for an economic evaluation alongside a cluster-randomised trial. BMJ open, 11(8), p.e046308. Link
Blyth, C.C., Britton, K.J., Nguyen, C.D., Sapura, J., Kave, J., Nivio, B., Chan, J., Satzke, C., Ford, R., Kirarock, W. and Lehmann, D., 2022. Effectiveness of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against hypoxic pneumonia and hospitalisation in Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea: An observational cohort study. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 22. Link
Davies, M.R., Duchene, S., Valcanis, M., Jenkins, A.P., Jenney, A., Rosa, V., Hayes, A.J., Strobel, A.G., McIntyre, L., Lacey, J.A. and Klemm, E.J., 2022. Genomic epidemiology of salmonella typhi in central division, Fiji, 2012 to 2016. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 24. Link
Hart, J.D., Chokephaibulkit, K., Mayxay, M., Ong-Lim, A.L.T., Saketa, S.T. and Russell, F.M., 2022. COVID-19 vaccine boosters in the Asia-Pacific region in the context of Omicron. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 20. Link
Hart, J.D., Ong, D.S., Chokephaibulkit, K., Ong-Lim, A.T., Vereti, I., Crawford, N.W. and Russell, F., 2023. Considerations for vaccinating children against COVID-19. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 7(1). Link
Hume-Nixon, M. et al 2022. Prevention of young infant infections using oral azithromycin in labour in Fiji (Bulabula MaPei): study protocol of a randomised control trial. BMJ open, 12(12), p.e061157. Link
Jackson, K., Littlejohn, M., Gane, E. and Locarnini, S., 2021. Molecular Phylogenetics of Hepatitis D Virus in New Zealand and the Implications for Pacific Island Countries. Intervirology, 64(2), pp.102-107. Link
Jackson, K., Tekoaua, R., Holgate, T., Edwards, R., Yuen, L., Lee, A., Nicholson, S., Littlejohn, M., Locarnini, S. and Tuneti, K., 2020. Hepatitis B and D in the Pacific Islands of Kiribati. Journal of Clinical Virology, 129, p.104527. Link
Jenney, A.W., Reyburn, R., Ratu, F.T., Tuivaga, E., Nguyen, C., Covea, S., Thomas, S., Rafai, E., Devi, R., Bright, K. and Jenkins, K., 2021. The impact of the rotavirus vaccine on diarrhoea, five years following national introduction in Fiji. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 6. Link
Jops, P., Cowan, J., Kupul, M., Trumb, R.N., Graham, S.M., Bauri, M., Nindil, H., Bell, S., Keam, T., Majumdar, S. and Pomat, W., 2023. Beyond patient delay, navigating structural health system barriers to timely care and treatment in a high burden TB setting in Papua New Guinea. Global Public Health, 18(1), p.2184482. Link
Kant, R., Varea, R. and Titifanue, J., 2021. COVID-19 vaccine online misinformation in Fiji: Preliminary findings. Pacific Journalism Review, 27(1/2), pp.47-62. Link
Lai, J. et al., 2020. Temporal decline in diarrhea episodes and mortality in Kiribati children two years following rotavirus vaccine introduction, despite high malnutrition rates: a retrospective review. BMC Infectious Diseases, 20, pp.1-9. Link
Le, T.P., Abell, I.R., Conway, E.J., Campbell, P.T., Hogan, A.B., Lydeamore, M.J., McVernon, J., Mueller, I., Walker, C.R. and Baker, C.M., 2023. Modelling the impact of hybrid immunity on future COVID-19 epidemic waves. medRxiv, pp.2023-03. Link
Lee, A.U., Jackson, K., Tekoaua, R., Lee, C., Huntley, M.S. and Hilmers, D.C., 2020. A programme to treat chronic hepatitis B in Kiribati: progress and challenges. Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal: WPSAR, 11(3), p.21. Link
Lestari, T., Kamaludin, Lowbridge, C., Kenangalem, E., Poespoprodjo, J.R., Graham, S.M. and Ralph, A.P., 2022. Impacts of tuberculosis services strengthening and the COVID-19 pandemic on case detection and treatment outcomes in Mimika District, Papua, Indonesia: 2014–2021. PLOS Global Public Health, 2(9), p.e0001114. Link
Lin, C., da Silva, E., Sahukhan, A., Palou, T., Buadromo, E., Hoang, T. and Howden, B.P., 2022. Towards equitable access to public health pathogen genomics in the Western Pacific. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 18. Link
Lindholm, D.E., Licciardi, P.V., Ratu, F.T., Mulholland, E.K., Nguyen, C.D. and Russell, F.M., 2020. Predictors of antibody persistence to the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in healthy Fijian infants at 12 months of age. Vaccine, 38(33), pp.5095-5099. Link
Loftus, M.J., Curtis, S.J., Naidu, R., Cheng, A.C., Jenney, A.W.J., Mitchell, B.G., Russo, P.L., Rafai, E., Peleg, A.Y. and Stewardson, A.J., 2020. Prevalence of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use among inpatients in a tertiary hospital in Fiji: a point prevalence survey. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, 9(1), pp.1-8. Link
Loftus, M.J., Everts, R.J., Cheng, A.C., Eti, P., Fakasiieiki, T., Isaia, L., Isopo, E., Jenney, A.W., Lameko, V., Leaupepe, H. and Leavai, F., 2023. Antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial isolates from clinical specimens in four Pacific Island countries, 2017–2021. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 32. Link
Loftus, M.J., Stewardson, A.J., Naidu, R., Coghlan, B., Jenney, A.W., Kepas, J., Lavu, E., Munamua, A.B., Peel, T.N., Sahai, V. and Tekoaua, R., 2020. Antimicrobial resistance in the Pacific Island countries and territories. BMJ global health, 5(4), p.e002418. Link
Loftus, M.J., Young-Sharma, T.E., Wati, S., Badoordeen, G.Z., Blakeway, L.V., Byers, S.M., Cheng, A.C., Jenney, A.W., Naidu, R., Prasad, A. and Prasad, V., 2022. Epidemiology, antimicrobial resistance and outcomes of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in a tertiary hospital in Fiji: A prospective cohort study. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 22. Link
Manna, S., Spry, L., Wee-Hee, A., Ortika, B.D., Boelsen, L.K., Batinovic, S., Mazarakis, N., Ford, R.L., Lo, S.W., Bentley, S.D. and Russell, F.M., 2022. Variants of Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 14 from Papua New Guinea with the potential to be mistyped and escape vaccine-induced protection. Microbiology Spectrum, 10(4), pp.e01524-22. Link
Marcato, A.J., Fielding, J.E., Crooks, K., Massey, P.D., Le, L.V., Bergeri, I. and McVernon, J., 2022. The ongoing value of first few X studies for COVID-19 in the Western Pacific Region. Western Pacific surveillance and response journal: WPSAR, 13(1), p.1. Link
Murray, C. et al. 2022. Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. The Lancet, 399(10325), pp.629-655. Link
Neal, E.F. et al.2020. Factors associated with pneumococcal carriage and density in children and adults in Fiji, using four cross-sectional surveys. PloS one, 15(4), p.e0231041. Link
Neal, E.F. et al. 2020. Associations between ethnicity, social contact, and pneumococcal carriage three years post-PCV10 in Fiji. Vaccine, 38(2), pp.202-211. Link
Opi, D.H., Boyle, M.J., McLean, A.R., Reiling, L., Chan, J.A., Stanisic, D.I., Ura, A., Mueller, I., Fowkes, F.J., Rogerson, S.J. and Beeson, J.G., 2021. Reduced risk of placental parasitemia associated with complement fixation on Plasmodium falciparum by antibodies among pregnant women. BMC medicine, 19, pp.1-16. Link
Palou, Theresa, Mathilda Wilmot, Sebastian Duchene, Ashleigh Porter, Janlyn Kemoi, Dagwin Suarkia, Patiyan Andersson et al. "Genomic characterisation reveals a dominant lineage of SARS-CoV-2 in Papua New Guinea." Virus Evolution 8, no. 1 (2022): veac033. Link
Rambhatla, J.S., Tonkin-Hill, G.Q., Takashima, E., Tsuboi, T., Noviyanti, R., Trianty, L., Sebayang, B.F., Lampah, D.A., Marfurt, J., Price, R.N. and Anstey, N.M., 2022. Identifying Targets of Protective Antibodies against Severe Malaria in Papua, Indonesia, Using Locally Expressed Domains of Plasmodium falciparum Erythrocyte Membrane Protein 1. Infection and Immunity, 90(2), pp.e00435-21. Link
Reading, P.C. and Strugnall, R.A. 2021. COVID-19 in Fiji. Microbiology Australia 42 (4), 192-195. Link
Reyburn, R., Tuivaga, E.J., Ratu, F.T., Dunne, E.M., Nand, D., Kado, J., Jenkins, K., Tikoduadua, L., Jenney, A., Howden, B.P. and Ballard, S.A., 2022. The impact of 10-valent pneumococcal vaccine introduction on invasive disease in Fiji. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 20. Link
Reyburn, R. et al 2021. Effect of ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduction on pneumonia hospital admissions in Fiji: a time-series analysis. The Lancet Global Health, 9(1), pp.e91-e98. Link
Reyburn, R. et al. 2023. A single dose of quadrivalent HPV vaccine is highly effective against HPV genotypes 16 and 18 detection in young pregnant women eight years following vaccination: an retrospective cohort study in Fiji. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 37. Link
Strobel, A.G., Airs, S., Nguyen, C., Vadei, T.R., Matanitobua, S., Kama, M., Watson, C.H., Crump, J.A., Mulholland, E.K., Strugnell, R.A. and Parry, C.M., 2022. Assessment of rapid diagnostic tests for typhoid diagnosis and assessment of febrile illness outbreaks in Fiji. The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 106(2), p.543. Link
Thean, L.J., Jenney, A., Engelman, D., Romani, L., Wand, H., Mudaliar, J., Paka, J., Cua, T., Taole, S., Sahukhan, A. and Kama, M., 2020. Hospital admissions for skin and soft tissue infections in a population with endemic scabies: A prospective study in Fiji, 2018–2019. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 14(12), p.e0008887. Link
Thean, L.J., Romani, L., Engelman, D., Wand, H., Jenney, A., Mani, J., Paka, J., Cua, T., Taole, S., Silai, M. and Ashwini, K., 2022. Prevention of bacterial complications of scabies using mass drug administration: A population-based, before-after trial in Fiji, 2018–2020. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 22. Link
Thomas, S., Donato, C.M., Covea, S., Ratu, F.T., Jenney, A.W., Reyburn, R., Sahu Khan, A., Rafai, E., Grabovac, V., Serhan, F. and Bines, J.E., 2021. Genotype Diversity before and after the Introduction of a Rotavirus Vaccine into the National Immunisation Program in Fiji. Pathogens, 10(3), p.358. Link
Thomas, S., Donato, C.M., Covea, S., Ratu, F.T., Jenney, A.W.J., Reyburn, R., Sahu Khan, A., Rafai, E., Grabovac, V. and Serhan, F., 2021. Genotype Diversity before and after the Introduction of a Rotavirus Vaccine into the National Immunisation Program in Fiji. Pathogens 2021, 10, 358. Rotaviruses and Rotavirus Vaccines, p.169. Link
Unger, H.W., Acharya, S., Arnold, L., Wu, C., van Eijk, A.M., Gore-Langton, G.R., Ter Kuile, F.O., Lufele, E., Chico, R.M., Price, R.N. and Moore, B.R., 2023. The effect and control of malaria in pregnancy and lactating women in the Asia-Pacific region. The Lancet Global Health, 11(11), pp.e1805-e1818. Link
Unger, H.W., Bleicher, A., Ome-Kaius, M., Aitken, E.H. and Rogerson, S.J., 2022. Associations of maternal iron deficiency with malaria infection in a cohort of pregnant Papua New Guinean women. Malaria Journal, 21(1), pp.1-11. Link
Unger, H.W., Laurita Longo, V., Bleicher, A., Ome-Kaius, M., Karl, S., Simpson, J.A., Karahalios, A., Aitken, E.H. and Rogerson, S.J., 2021. The relationship between markers of antenatal iron stores and birth outcomes differs by malaria prevention regimen—a prospective cohort study. BMC medicine, 19(1), pp.1-13. Link
Image: M M/Flickr