scholarly journals Increased HIV Subtype Diversity Reflecting Demographic Changes in the HIV Epidemic in New South Wales, Australia

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1402
Author(s):  
Francesca Di Giallonardo ◽  
Angie Pinto ◽  
Phillip Keen ◽  
Ansari Shaik ◽  
Alex Carrera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Heterosexual Transmission ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Subtype C ◽  
Subtype B ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Hiv 1 ◽  
Over Time

Changes over time in HIV-1 subtype diversity within a population reflect changes in factors influencing the development of local epidemics. Here we report on the genetic diversity of 2364 reverse transcriptase sequences from people living with HIV-1 in New South Wales (NSW) notified between 2004 and 2018. These data represent >70% of all new HIV-1 notifications in the state over this period. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to identify subtype-specific transmission clusters. Subtype B and non-B infections differed across all demographics analysed (p < 0.001). We found a strong positive association for infections among females, individuals not born in Australia or reporting heterosexual transmission being of non-B origin. Further, we found an overall increase in non-B infections among men who have sex with men from 50 to 79% in the last 10 years. However, we also found differences between non-B subtypes; heterosexual transmission was positively associated with subtype C only. In addition, the majority of subtype B infections were associated with clusters, while the majority of non-B infections were singletons. However, we found seven non-B clusters (≥5 sequences) indicative of local ongoing transmission. In conclusion, we present how the HIV-1 epidemic has changed over time in NSW, becoming more heterogeneous with distinct subtype-specific demographic associations.

scholarly journals Limited Sustained Local Transmission of HIV-1 CRF01_AE in New South Wales, Australia

Viruses ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Di Giallonardo ◽  
Angie N. Pinto ◽  
Phillip Keen ◽  
Ansari Shaik ◽  
Alex Carrera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Transmission ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Hiv 1 ◽  
Local Transmission

Australia’s response to the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) pandemic led to effective control of HIV transmission and one of the world’s lowest HIV incidence rates—0.14%. Although there has been a recent decline in new HIV diagnoses in New South Wales (NSW), the most populous state in Australia, there has been a concomitant increase with non-B subtype infections, particularly for the HIV-1 circulating recombinant form CRF01_AE. This aforementioned CRF01_AE sampled in NSW, were combined with those sampled globally to identify NSW-specific viral clades. The population growth of these clades was assessed in two-year period intervals from 2009 to 2017. Overall, 109 NSW-specific clades were identified, most comprising pairs of sequences; however, five large clades comprising ≥10 sequences were also found. Forty-four clades grew over time with one or two sequences added to each in different two-year periods. Importantly, while 10 of these clades have seemingly discontinued, the remaining 34 were still active in 2016/2017. Seven such clades each comprised ≥10 sequences, and are representative of individual sub-epidemics in NSW. Thus, although the majority of new CRF01_AE infections were associated with small clades that rarely establish ongoing chains of local transmission, individual sub-epidemics are present and should be closely monitored.

scholarly journals Nationwide Study of Drug Resistance Mutations in HIV-1 Infected Individuals under Antiretroviral Therapy in Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 5304
Author(s):  
Ana Santos-Pereira ◽  
Vera Triunfante ◽  
Pedro M. M. Araújo ◽  
Joana Martins ◽  
Helena Soares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Resistance Mutations ◽  
Subtype C ◽  
Viral Loads ◽  
Drug Resistance Mutations ◽  
Subtype B ◽  
Low Prevalence ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Hiv 1

The success of antiretroviral treatment (ART) is threatened by the emergence of drug resistance mutations (DRM). Since Brazil presents the largest number of people living with HIV (PLWH) in South America we aimed at understanding the dynamics of DRM in this country. We analyzed a total of 20,226 HIV-1 sequences collected from PLWH undergoing ART between 2008–2017. Results show a mild decline of DRM over the years but an increase of the K65R reverse transcriptase mutation from 2.23% to 12.11%. This increase gradually occurred following alterations in the ART regimens replacing zidovudine (AZT) with tenofovir (TDF). PLWH harboring the K65R had significantly higher viral loads than those without this mutation (p < 0.001). Among the two most prevalent HIV-1 subtypes (B and C) there was a significant (p < 0.001) association of K65R with subtype C (11.26%) when compared with subtype B (9.27%). Nonetheless, evidence for K65R transmission in Brazil was found both for C and B subtypes. Additionally, artificial neural network-based immunoinformatic predictions suggest that K65R could enhance viral recognition by HLA-B27 that has relatively low prevalence in the Brazilian population. Overall, the results suggest that tenofovir-based regimens need to be carefully monitored particularly in settings with subtype C and specific HLA profiles.

Commerce and Cooperation: Litigation and Settlement of Civil Disputes on the Australian Frontier, 1860–1990

2000 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 1088-1119
Author(s):  
B. Zorina Khan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Market Exchange ◽  
Conflict And Cooperation ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Cooperative Solutions ◽  
Informal Rules ◽  
Over Time

I examine the evolution of conflict and cooperation during economic growth by analyzing civil disputes in New South Wales between 1860 and 1900. Disputes per capita fell over time and the proportion of cases settled before trial increased, but patterns varied across locations and types of disputes. Economic conflicts were likelier to be settled than personal disputes, and the fraction of cases settled was significantly lower in frontier areas and in districts without access to transportation. The results suggest that increased market exchange facilitates the development of informal rules and encourages transactors to find cooperative solutions through private bargaining.

scholarly journals Documenting Elimination of Co-Circulating Covid-19 Clusters Using Genomics in New South Wales, Australia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia Arnott ◽  
Jenny Draper ◽  
Rebecca J Rockett ◽  
Connie Lam ◽  
Rosemarie Sadsad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Public Health Action ◽  
Cluster Evolution ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Health Action ◽  
Genomic Clusters ◽  
Genomic Cluster ◽  
Clear Information ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Objective: To adapt ‘fishplots’ to describe SARS-CoV-2 genomic cluster evolution. Results: This novel analysis adapted the fishplot to depict the size and duration of circulating genomic clusters over time in New South Wales, Australia. It illuminated the effectiveness of interventions on the emergence, spread and eventual elimination of clusters and distilled genomic data into clear information to inform public health action.

A community-led, harm-reduction approach to chemsex: case study from Australia’s largest gay city

Sexual Health ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Stardust ◽  
Johann Kolstee ◽  
Stefan Joksic ◽  
James Gray ◽  
Siobhan Hannan
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Gay And Bisexual Men ◽  
Sexual Pleasure ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
South Wales ◽  
And Bisexual

Rates of drug use remain substantially higher among gay and bisexual men (GBM) and people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The use of drugs to enhance sexual pleasure within cultures of Party and Play creates opportunities to discuss sexual health, mental health, consent and wellbeing. Community organisations with a history of HIV prevention, care, treatment are well-placed to respond. ACON’s (formerly the AIDS Council of New South Wales) multi-dimensional response to ‘chemsex’ includes: direct client services support for individuals seeking to manage or reduce their use; health promotion activities that support peer education; partnerships with research institutions to better understand cultures of chemsex; and policy submissions that call for drug use to be approached as a health, rather than a criminal, issue. The approach speaks the language of Party and Play subcultures; employs culturally relevant terminology and imagery; uses content designed, created and delivered by peers; and operates within a pleasure-positive, harm-reduction and community-led framework. These interventions have led to increased service uptake, strong community engagement, robust research partnerships and the recognition of GBM as a priority population in relevant strategies.

Changing pattern of sexually transmissible infections and HIV diagnosed in public sexual health services compared with other locations in New South Wales, 2010–14

Sexual Health ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Bourne ◽  
Meeyin Lam ◽  
Christine Selvey ◽  
Rebecca Guy ◽  
Denton Callander
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Bisexual Men ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infections ◽  
Annual Proportion ◽  
Priority Population

Background In Australia, testing and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs) is usually managed in general practice, while publicly funded sexual health clinics (PFSHC) attract people at higher risk for infection. The proportion of HIV and STI diagnoses in New South Wales (NSW) occurring in PFSHC stratified by priority population was investigated. Methods: From 2010 to 2014, NSW notification frequencies for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, infectious syphilis, and HIV were compared with the number of diagnoses in PFSHC. The annual proportion of diagnoses at PFSHC was calculated and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests assessed trends. Diagnoses from PFSHC were also organised by priority population, including gay and bisexual men (GBM), people living with HIV, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people who use injecting drugs, sex workers and young people. Results: The annual proportion of HIV and STIs diagnosed at PFSHC increased (all P < 0.001): chlamydia from 12% to 15%, gonorrhoea 23% to 38%, infectious syphilis 21% to 40% and HIV 22% to 30%. Overall, the majority of all infections diagnosed at PFSHC were among GBM, with the proportional distribution of chlamydia increasing from 32% to 46% among GBM (P < 0.001) and decreasing among young people (50% to 40%; P < 0.001). There were no other significant changes by population or infection at PFSHC. Conclusions: Increasing proportions of STI and HIV are being diagnosed at NSW PFSHC, mostly among GBM. PFSHC reorientation to priority populations continues to make a large and increasing contribution to STI and HIV control efforts in NSW.

Improvements in growth and wool production of winter-grazed merino weaners when offered a protein-rich supplement

1993 ◽  
Vol 1993 ◽  
pp. 118-118
Author(s):  
J.V. Nolan ◽  
J.A. Thomas ◽  
M.K. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Fibre Diameter ◽  
Wool Production ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Supplementation Period ◽  
Native Pastures ◽  
Protein Rich ◽  
Over Time

Protein-rich supplements often enhance production of ruminants grazing native pastures during the winter on the northern tablelands of New South Wales. However, graziers report that animals offered supplements often do not consume them; there is also experimental evidence, obtained using tritiated supplements, that intake of supplements by individuals within a flock may exhibit wide variation. The objectives of this study were first, to evaluate a commercial protein-rich supplement when given to winter-grazed weaners, by determining the effect of supplementation on liveweight gain, wool production and fibre diameter, and second, to estimate the changes in patterns of intake of supplement by individual animals over time during a 12 week supplementation period.

Decadal trends in shark catches and effort from the New South Wales, Australia, Shark Meshing Program 1950 - 2010

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 676 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. D. Reid ◽  
W. D. Robbins ◽  
V. M. Peddemors
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Galeocerdo Cuvier ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Large Animals ◽  
Size And Sex Composition ◽  
Over Time

The New South Wales (NSW) government has operated a program of netting beaches for the protection of swimmers and surfers against shark attack since 1937 in Sydney, and since 1949 in Newcastle and Wollongong. The scope and directives of the Shark Meshing Program have remained constant since its inception, with operational modifications in net specifications in 1972, changes in spatial deployment in 1972, 1987 and 1992, and the elimination of winter netting since 1989. This markedly increased meshing effort in 1972, and again in 1987. In the present study, we examine the trends in catch and effort for the period from 1950–1951 to 2009–2010 over this 200-km section of the NSW coast. Significant temporal trends in species, size and sex composition are described herein. Catches were consistently dominated by three shark taxa, hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna spp.), whaler sharks (Carcharhinus spp.) and Australian angel sharks (Squatina australis), although their relative contributions to catches varied over time. Catch per unit effort has significantly declined for five of the most abundant shark taxa over the study period, increasing only for a single taxon, the sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus). Catches of larger, potentially dangerous white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) saw fewer large animals being caught over time. This pattern was not observed across other taxa. Four different monthly trends were observed in landings of the most abundant eight taxa, reflecting differences in the biology of the catch species. The current study also provides useful information on catches and sizes of grey nurse (Carcharias taurus) and white sharks before and after their protection in NSW waters in 1984 and 1998, respectively.

scholarly journals The Need for Structured Strategies to Improve Stroke Care in a Rural Telestroke Network in Northern New South Wales, Australia: An Observational Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yumi Tomari Kashida ◽  
Carlos Garcia-Esperon ◽  
Thomas Lillicrap ◽  
Ferdinand Miteff ◽  
Pablo Garcia-Bermejo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acute Stroke ◽  
New South ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Stroke Care ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Phase 2 ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Over Time

Introduction: A telestroke network in Northern New South Wales, Australia has been developed since 2017. We theorized that the telestroke network development would drive a progressive improvement in stroke care metrics over time.Aim: This study aimed to describe changes in acute stroke workflow metrics over time to determine whether they improved with network experience.Methods: We prospectively collected data of patients assessed by telestroke who received multimodal computed tomography (mCT) and were diagnosed with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack from January 2017 to July 2019. The period was divided into two phases (phase 1: January 2017 – October 2018 and phase 2: November 2018 – July 2019). We compared median door-to-call, door-to-image, and door-to-decision time between the two phases.Results: We included 433 patients (243 in phase 1 and 190 in phase 2). Each spoke site treated 1.5–5.2 patients per month. There were Door-to-call time (median 39 in phase 1, 35 min in phase 2, p = 0.18), and door-to-decision time (median 81.5 vs. 83 min, p = 0.31) were not improved significantly. Similarly, in the reperfusion therapy subgroup, door-to-call time (median 29 vs. 24.5 min, p = 0.12) and door-to-decision time (median 70.5 vs. 67.5 min, p = 0.75) remained substantially unchanged. Regression analysis showed no association between time in the network and door-to-decision time (coefficient 1.5, p = 0.32).Conclusion: In our telestroke network, acute stroke timing metrics did not improve over time. There is the need for targeted education and training focusing on both stroke reperfusion competencies and the technical aspects of telestroke in areas with limited workforce and high turnover.

An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes

2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron G. Radford ◽  
Mike Letnic ◽  
Melanie Fillios ◽  
Mathew S. Crowther
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Visual Assessment ◽  
Assessment Methods ◽  
Skull Morphology ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Morphological Studies ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Wild Canids ◽  
Over Time

In Australia, the genetic integrity of dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) is threatened through hybridisation with feral dogs and consequently the identification of the modern ‘pure’ dingo is ambiguous. There are no accurate classification techniques for dingoes and dingo–dog hybrids in the wild. Genetics, skull morphology and visual assessment are methods currently used, but they often yield contrasting results. We tested skull morphological and visual assessment methods for classifying wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales and examined temporal and geographic trends in skull morphology. Published equations based on discriminant functions revealed varying percentages of dingoes, dogs and their hybrids over time, and did not yield similar results to visual assessment methods. Skull characteristics generally became larger over time but have recently stabilised. Changes in the morphology of the molars were consistent with the occurrence of hybridisation with dogs. Geographic variation was apparent and consistent with Bergmann’s Law, with skulls increasing in size with altitude. This study highlights the importance for improved classification methods of wild canids and the importance of considering geographical variation in morphological studies.

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