Respiratory reports. COVID-19 serology testing for travellers. Getting Through Together Matariki campaign. Rheumatic fever. Notification of sexually transmitted infections
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Public Health Update July 2021

Respiratory reports

After pausing our winter respiratory virus reports in 2020 due to COVID-19 disruptions, Community and Public Health has recommenced weekly reporting for winter 2021 using an updated data set. As a recipient of this Public Health Update newsletter you will be emailed key points and a link to the one-page report each Monday. You can subscribe or unsubscribe within that email. Please feel free to forward the email to anyone else you think may be interested. Feedback on the report is welcome: nicola.laurie@cdhb.health.nz.


COVID-19 serology testing for travellers

Travellers to China are currently required to provide negative results for one COVID-19 nucleic acid (PCR) test and one COVID-19 IgM test before travel. The COVID-19 IgM assay is less specific than PCR and occasionally yields false positive results.

In the absence of a positive PCR result, a positive IgM result is not notifiable to the medical officer of health and should be discussed with the testing laboratory’s microbiologist in the first instance.


Getting Through Together Matariki campaign

The next Getting Through Together campaign, which will celebrate Matariki, has hit the streets.  Matariki is an ancient celebration that has been connecting people across Aotearoa for hundreds of years.  It signals the Māori New Year and is a time of renewal and celebration for all New Zealanders.  Matariki begins with the rising of the Matariki star cluster, which in 2021 starts on 2 July.  Matariki is a time to māharatia (reflect), whakanuia (celebrate) and wawatatia (aspire) for the future.

Getting Through Together, an All Right? partnership with the Mental Health Foundation, is a population-level mental wellbeing promotion campaign across New Zealand.  Our research shows about 31% of New Zealanders are aware of the campaign, that it’s prompted 61% of those people to do something about their wellbeing, and that 90% report the campaign is valuable for their community.


Rheumatic fever

Three cases of rheumatic fever have been notified to Community and Public Health so far in 2021. Two were brothers aged 12 and 19; the other case was a 30 year-old male. 

Most cases of acute rheumatic fever are in children aged 5-14 years, although about one third of cases occur in older teens and young adults. Diagnosis is clinical, based on the Jones criteria (major = carditis, polyarthritis, chorea, erythema marginatum, subcutaneous nodules; minor = fever, raised ESR or CRP, polyarthralgia, prolonged PR interval on ECG).

Early diagnosis and treatment of acute rheumatic fever reduces the risk of severe rheumatic heart disease. All suspected cases should be notified to the Medical Officer of Health and referred to hospital for specialist assessment, investigation, education and treatment, which includes long-term antibiotic prophylaxis to prevent recurrent attacks. Regular long-term follow-up of confirmed cases is fully funded in primary care.

Early detection and treatment of group A streptococcal throat infections helps reduce the incidence of acute rheumatic fever.


Notification of sexually transmitted infections

Community and Public Health is still receiving some sexually transmitted infection notifications with full patient information included.  AIDS, HIV, gonorrhoea, and syphilis are notifiable diseases, but on a “non-identified basis”, and sending full patient information breaches patient privacy. Please use the links on the ESR Public Health Surveillance website to notify sexually transmitted infections anonymously.

https://surv.esr.cri.nz/public_health_surveillance/sti_surveillance.php


 

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Community and Public Health
A Division of the Canterbury District Health Board
310 Manchester Street Christchurch
Phone: +64 3 364 1777
www.cph.co.nz/contact-us/ www.cdhb.health.nz
Public Health Update July 2021