Skin infections and infestations in Aboriginal communities in northern Australia

Abstract

The most important skin infections in Aboriginal communities in central and northern Australia are scabies and streptococcal pyoderma. Scabies is endemic in many remote Aboriginal communities, with prevalences in children up to 50%. The cycles of scabies transmission underlie much of the pyoderma. Up to 70% of children have skin sores, with group A streptococcus (GAS) the major pathogen. Group A streptococcus is responsible for the continuing outbreaks of post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis and acute rheumatic fever (ARF). The cycles of scabies transmission in dogs and humans do not appear to significantly overlap. Guidelines have been developed for community control of scabies and skin sores and successful community initiated coordinated programmes have occurred. The anthropophilic dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum is ubiquitous in many communities, again reflecting living conditions. Other skin infections related to the tropical environment include melioidosis, nocardiosis, Chromobacterium violaceum and chromoblastomycosis. Sustainable and long-term improvements in scabies, skin sores and GAS-related disease and tinea require fundamental changes that address social and economic inequities and, in particular, living conditions and overcrowding.

Characterization of a Serine Protease Homologous to House Dust Mite Group 3 Allergens from the Scabies Mite Sarcoptes scabiei

“…Protein was eluted using a linear gradient of NH 2 (SO) 4 from 1.5 to 0 M in 25 mM sodium acetate, pH 5.0, over 80 ml. The rSar s 3 eluted between 0.6 and 0.8 M NH 2 (SO) 4 . Peak fractions were pooled and subjected to dialysis against 10 mM MES, 5 pH 5.5, loaded onto a 5-ml HiTrap SP-Sepharose FF column (GE Healthcare), and washed using 50 ml of 10 mM MES, pH 5.5, to remove unbound material.…”

“…The supernatant was thawed and prepared for hydrophobic interaction chromatography by the gradual addition of NH 2 (SO) 4 to a final concentration of 1.5 M in 25 mM sodium acetate and adjusted to pH 5.0. The preparation was centrifuged for 30 min at 20,000 ϫ g. The supernatant was filtered through a 0.45-m filter, and the filtrate was loaded onto a 5-ml HiTrap phenyl-Sepharose column (GE Healthcare) pre-equilibrated with 25 mM sodium acetate, 1.5 M NH 2 (SO) 4 , pH 5.0. Unbound material was removed by washing with equilibration buffer.…”

Conserved anchorless surface proteins as group A streptococcal vaccine candidates

“…We examined whether members of this population have pre-existing immunity against ADI and TF, hypothesizing that an immune response against these protective antigens may be lacking in a human population that suffers repeated GAS infections [33]. The Aboriginal immune response was determined using a pool of serum (n = 30) obtained from Aboriginal children living in remote communities of the Northern Territory suffering endemic GAS infection.…”

Streptococcus pyogenes prtFII, but not sfbI, sfbII or fbp54, is represented more frequently among invasive-disease isolates of tropical Australia

“…Skin is the major reservoir for S. pyogenes in this * Author for correspondence : Queensland Institute of Medical Research, 300, Herston Road, Herston Qld 4006, Australia. population. The rate of streptococcal invasive diseases among the Aboriginal population is five times that of the general population and acute glomerulonephritis is endemic among the Australian Aborigines [1,4,5]. Interestingly, invasive S. pyogenes diseases in the indigenous population are not due to a dominant clone [4].…”