Objective To identify the perceived barriers to the implementation of the Australian national guidelines on influenza outbreak management with Sydney Local Health District ( SLHD ) residential aged care facility ( RACF ) staff. Methods All SLHD RACF s were invited to participate in a telephone interview. The questionnaire collected information about demographic characteristics and participants' level of agreement with statements regarding perceived barriers to implementing the national guidelines for influenza outbreak management. Results Twenty‐eight of 61 RACF s (46%) participated in the study. The three most common barriers identified were as follows: scepticism towards staff influenza vaccination (n = 13, 46%); the effort required to read the national guidelines (n = 11, 39%); and lack of infrastructure to physically separate residents during an outbreak (n = 10, 36%). Conclusions We recommend implementing and evaluating programmes which address misconceptions about influenza vaccination amongst RACF staff. Further, all RACF staff, including care staff, should receive targeted education on the role of infection control in influenza outbreak management.

This was a large point-source outbreak associated with the consumption of Vietnamese-style pork, chicken and salad rolls. These foods have been responsible for significant outbreaks in the past. The typical ingredients of raw egg butter or mayonnaise and pate are often implicated, as are the food-handling practices in food outlets. This indicates the need for education in better food-handling practices, including the benefits of using safer products. Ongoing surveillance will monitor the success of new food regulations introduced in New South Wales during 2011 for improving food-handling practices and reducing foodborne illness.

The incident command system (ICS) provides a common structure to control and coordinate an emergency response, regardless of scale or predicted impact. The lessons learned from the application of an ICS for large infectious disease outbreaks are documented. However, there is scant evidence on the application of an ICS to manage a local multiagency response to a disease cluster with environmental health risks. The Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit (PHU) in New South Wales, Australia, was notified of 5 cases of Legionnaires' disease during 2 weeks in May 2016. This unusual incident triggered a multiagency investigation involving an ICS with staff from the PHU, 3 local councils, and the state health department to help prevent any further public health risk. The early and judicious use of ICS enabled a timely and effective response by supporting clear communication lines between the incident controller and field staff. The field team was key in preventing any ongoing public health risk through inspection, sampling, testing, and management of water systems identified to be at-risk for transmission of legionella. Good working relationships between partner agencies and trust in the technical proficiency of environmental health staff aided in the effective management of the response. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:539-542).

EV71 is in Australia and all clinicians seeing children in primary, secondary and tertiary care centres need to be aware of the disease, the subtle nature of initial symptoms and the potentially devastating consequences.