Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26798556›Full record

ArticleWestern Pacific surveillance and response journal : WPSAR

Descriptive epidemiology of infectious gastrointestinal illnesses in Sydney, Australia, 2007-2010.

Stephanie Fletcher, David Sibbritt, Damien Stark, John Harkness, William Rawlinson, David Andresen, Sebastian Van Hal, Juan Merif, John Ellis

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Western Pacific surveillance and response journal : WPSAR. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Genotyping and distribution ofParasitology · 2026
    Article
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  4. Prevalence, associated risk factors and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns ofTropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2019
    Article
  5. Article
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  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Stephanie FletcherPublic Health Unit, South Western Sydney Local Health District.; Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
David SibbrittFaculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia .
Damien StarkDivision of Microbiology, SydPath, St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.; The iThree Institute and School of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
John HarknessDivision of Microbiology, SydPath, St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.; The iThree Institute and School of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
William RawlinsonMicrobiology Department, South Eastern Area Laboratory Service (SEALS), Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia.; School of Medical Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
David AndresenDepartment of Microbiology, Children's Hospital at Westmead, New South Wales, Australia .
Sebastian Van HalDepartment of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia .
Juan MerifMicrobiology Department, South Eastern Area Laboratory Service (SEALS), Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia .
John EllisThe iThree Institute and School of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia .

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThere is a lack of information about the prevalence of gastrointestinal illnesses in Australia. Current disease surveillance systems capture only a few pathogens. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiology of infectious gastrointestinal illnesses in Sydney, Australia.

methodsA retrospective cross-sectional study of patients with gastrointestinal symptoms who visited tertiary public hospitals in Sydney was conducted between 2007 and 2010. Patients with diarrhoea or loose stools with an enteric pathogen detected were identified. Demographic, clinical and potential risk factor data were collected from their medical records. Measures of association, descriptive and inferential statistics were analysed.

resultsIn total, 1722 patients were included in this study. Campylobacter (22.0%) and Clostridium difficile (19.2%) were the most frequently detected pathogens. Stratified analysis showed that rotavirus (22.4%), norovirus (20.7%) and adenovirus (18.1%) mainly affected children under 5 years; older children (5-12 years) were frequently infected with Campylobacter spp. (29.8%) and non-typhoid Salmonella spp. (24.4%); infections with C. difficile increased with age.Campylobacter and non-typhoid Salmonella spp. showed increased incidence in summer months (December to February), while rotavirus infections peaked in the cooler months (June to November). DISCUSSION: This study revealed that gastrointestinal illness remains a major public health issue in Sydney. Improvement of current disease surveillance and prevention and control measures are required. This study emphasizes the importance of laboratory diagnosis of enteric infections and the need for better clinical data collection to improve management of disease risk factors in the community.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedBacterial InfectionsChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesDiarrheaFemaleGastroenteritisHumansIncidenceInfantMaleMiddle AgedNew South Wales

Identifiers

PMID26798556
PMCPMC4712528

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.