The objective of this review was to identify and critique over forty years of peer-reviewed literature concerned with the transmission of canine zoonoses to Aboriginal people and determine the zoonotic organisms documented in dogs in Australian Aboriginal communities. A systematic literature search of public health, medical and veterinary databases identified 19 articles suitable for critical appraisal. Thirteen articles documented the occurrence of recognized zoonotic organisms in dogs in Aboriginal communities, including Toxocara canis, Dirofilaria immitis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Rickettsia felis, Sarcoptes scabiei and Giardia. Currently, there is definitive evidence indicating that dogs act as a reservoir for human scabies in Aboriginal communities. However, there is a need for large-scale, high-quality, comparative studies of dogs and humans from the same household to assess the occurrence and importance of transmission of S. scabiei and other diseases between dogs and humans. These studies should use current genetic and molecular techniques along with traditional techniques to identify and type organisms in order to better understand their epidemiology. This review has revealed that there is a lack of high-quality comparative studies to determine whether dogs are contributing to human disease by transmitting zoonoses. Our recommendations differ significantly from current public health policy and may have substantial implications for human and dog health.

There are a wide range of opportunities for arthritis patient education including individual or group counselling, printed notes and the Internet. Over the past 20 years efforts have been made to evaluate patient education programmes and determine if they are effective and, more recently, whether they are cost-effective. In the short term (up to 6-12 months) structured educational programmes have been demonstrated to increase patient knowledge and improve desirable behaviours such as relaxation, exercise and compliance with medications. More controversial has been the long term outcome (>12 months) of these programmes. Some studies indicate continuing benefit, albeit at reduced levels, compared to earlier evaluation points. Other studies, including a recent Cochrane report suggest that the beneficial effects are not sustained. In conclusion, patient education programmes have a modest, but significant, benefit on patient knowledge and behaviour, at least in the short term.

Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis (SDSE), also known as group G and C streptococci, is becoming increasingly recognized as a pathogen in humans. We report here the finding of an identical strain of SDSE in the throat of a child and their dog in an Aboriginal Australian community. The strain was identified using the API 20Strep system, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, emm sequence typing (emmST) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) as a group C SDSE, stC839.5 and ST-3. Carriage of this strain by a human and dog in the same household justifies detailed epidemiological studies using molecular typing to clarify the extent of cross-species transmission and sharing of SDSE and other group G and C streptococci, and its impact in these communities.