Australian Medical Association

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, today called on the Government and health groups to place a renewed focus on child and youth health issues in 2012.

Children and young people confront a range of health issues including poor diet and obesity, anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and bullying.  The degree to which these conditions have an impact can be influenced by socio-economic factors.

MJA release - Experts warn that baby slings may cause suffocation, after a sling was implicated in the death of a 2-day-old boy in South Australia.

MJA release -Pregnant women and newborns should be routinely screened for cytomegalovirus (CMV) to prevent hearing loss and intellectual disability in infants, according to research in the Medical Journal of Australia.

CMV is a common viral infection that causes flu-like or no symptoms in healthy people. However, it can cause additional problems for pregnant women, particularly if the infection occurs for the first time during pregnancy, potentially resulting in hearing loss and intellectual disability in newborn babies.

MJA release - Children aged five and under – particularly those with intermittent viral-induced wheezing – should be treated with oral corticosteroids for asthma only if their wheeze is severe enough to require hospital admission, according to new guidelines.

MJA release - Lack of adequate supervision was a contributing factor in more than 70 per cent of fatal child drownings across Australia, according to a study in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.

MJA media release - Progress in childhood cancer is a good news story. Children treated for cancer have an overall 70-80 per cent cure rate. As the numbers of survivors of childhood cancer increases, studies of the long-term survivors allow research that can guide newer treatment protocols and further improve the outlook for newly diagnosed patients.

Compared with the general population, survivors of childhood cancer in Australia are at an increased risk of second cancers and an earlier death, according to an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia, which looked at a group of survivors treated between 1970 and 1999.

Please find below information relating to the use of 2010 seasonal influenza vaccine in children.

Updated advice: On 26 August 2010, the Department of Health and Ageing and the Therapeutic Goods Administration advised that CSL has withdrawn Panvax® Junior 0.25mL pre-filled syringes because of a reduction in vaccine antigen potency over time.  The registered 12 month shelf life of Panvax® Junior 0.25mL pre-filled syringes is no longer accurate and has been reduced to 6 months.  As a result existing stocks of Panvax® Junior should now be considered expired. The safety of the vaccine is not affected.

Important: Please note that the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer's advice in relation to adverse reactions to 2010 seasonal influenza vaccine in children has changed as of 30 July 2010.

The Chief Medical Officer has today advised that children aged from 6 months to less than 5 years may be vaccinated with Vaxigrip® and Influvac®, following a discussion of the risks and benefits of these vaccines with parents and guardians.  This includes both children at risk of medical complications of influenza and healthy children.  Vaccination of children in this age group with Fluvax® and Fluvax® Junior is not recommended due to the identified increase risk of febrile convulsions.  Recommendations for the use of seasonal influenza vaccine including Fluvax® in children 5 years and older and in adults has not changed.

The CMO’s advice follows ongoing investigations in Australia and overseas which have indicated that there does not appear to be the higher than normal incidence of febrile convulsions in children under five with the seasonal flu vaccines Influvac and Vaxigrip. Investigations into fever and febrile convulsions associated with the vaccine Fluvax are continuing.

AMA Vice President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the AMA is greatly concerned that groups that are promoting discredited theories about immunisation are exposing Australians to the devastating effects of preventable illnesses.

Dr Hambleton said that recent media reports outlining the views of the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN) show that this organisation has drawn the fire of the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC).

“It is important for parents to have their children immunised. Immunisation saves lives,” Dr Hambleton said.

MJA media release - Rates of severe pneumonia in hospitalised Northern Territory Indigenous children are among the highest reported in the world, and reducing this burden of disease should be a national health priority, according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Kerry-Ann O’Grady, Post-Doctoral Training Fellow at the Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, and co-authors conducted an observational study of all hospital admissions for any diagnosis of Northern Territory resident Indigenous children aged between 29 days and under five years from 1 April 1997 to 31 March 2005.

They found that the average annual cumulative incidence of radiologically confirmed pneumonia (World Health Organization protocol) was 26.6 per 1000 population a year, 57.5 per 1000 a year in infants aged 1-11 months, 38.3 per 1000 a year in those aged 12-23 months, and 13.3 per 1000 a year in those aged 24-59 months.

Due to a spike in the numbers of young children in Western Australia experiencing fever and convulsions following seasonal flu vaccinations, Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jim Bishop, is advising all GPs and immunisation providers to stop giving seasonal flu vaccine to children five years and under until a cause is established.

"This is a precautionary measure while the matter is being urgently investigated by health experts and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)," Professor Bishop said.

"Until it can be established what factors are causing the apparent rise in fevers in some children in WA, I am writing to all immunisation providers to advise them not to administer seasonal flu vaccine to all children 5 years of age and under until further notice."