Project: Epidemiology of Scarlet Fever in Victoria
McVernon Group
Scarlet fever is a childhood infection caused by Streptococcus A that manifests as fever and widespread rash and is often associated with streptococcal pharyngitis (sore throat). It can sometimes lead to severe complications. In recent years, large scarlet fever outbreaks have occurred in many places, including England, Hong Kong and mainland China. There is evidence that scarlet fever numbers are increasing in Queensland, however there is no formal mechanism to monitor scarlet fever numbers in Australia (i.e. it is not a notifiable disease). This project involves a large linked dataset encompassing emergency department presentations, hospital admissions, and deaths in Victoria. This project could include review of published information regarding scarlet fever epidemiology in Australia; a longitudinal data analysis of scarlet fever epidemiology in Victoria; and assessment of the risk of invasive Strep A among individuals with scarlet fever and their household contacts.
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McVernon Group
13 vacancies
Professor Jodie McVernon is a physician with subspecialty qualifications in public health and vaccinology. She has extensive expertise in clinical vaccine trials, epidemiologic studies and mathematical modelling of infectious diseases, gained at the University of Oxford, Health Protection Agency London and the University of Melbourne. Her work focuses on the application of a range of cross-disciplinary methodological approaches, including mathematical and computational models, to synthesise insights from basic biology, epidemiological data and sociological research. These models advance understanding of the observed epidemiology of infectious diseases and inform understanding of optimal interventions for disease control.
McVernon Group Current Projects
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Sample size determination for within-host animal studies of infection
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Bias in vaccine effectiveness studies
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Measuring the association between influenza presentations and invasive group A Streptococcus infections (iGAS)
Master of Biomedical Science
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Buruli ulcers’ Most Wanted – Understanding the mosquito associated with the flesh-eating bacteria, Mycobacterium ulcerans.
Master of Biomedical Science
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Exploring the association between hepatitis C and invasive group A streptococcus infections (iGAS)
Master of Biomedical Science
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Invasive Streptococcus A – piecing together clinical, genomic and public health aspects of the puzzle
PhD/MPhil
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Optimising use of existing and emerging SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics to support the public health response to COVID-19
PhD/MPhil
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Modelling spatial and demographic heterogeneity of malaria transmission risk
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Epidemiology of Scarlet Fever in Victoria
Master of Biomedical Science
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Optimal design of competitive mixture experiments
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Investigating the household risk of group A Streptococcus infection
Master of Biomedical Science
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Understanding the impact of new testing for infectious diseases
PhD/MPhil, Master of Biomedical Science
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Acute respiratory infection presentations and prescribing in primary care
Master of Biomedical Science
Research degrees at the Doherty Institute are administered by the University of Melbourne.