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Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network

The Research and Health Promotion Unit of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners operates the Australian Sentinel Practice Research Network (ASPREN). ASPREN is a national network of general practitioners who report presentations of defined medical conditions each week. The aim of ASPREN is to provide an indicator of the burden of disease in the primary health care setting and to detect trends in consultation rates.

There are currently about 40 general practitioners participating in the network from all states. Seventy-five per cent of these are in metropolitan areas and the remainder are rural based. Between 3,000 and 4,000 consultations are recorded each week.

The list of conditions is reviewed annually by the ASPREN management committee and an annual report is published.

In 2006, six conditions are being monitored, four of which are related to communicable diseases. These include influenza, gastroenteritis, varicella and shingles. Definitions of these conditions are described in Surveillance systems reported in CDI, published in Commun Dis Intell 2006;30:158. Note that in 2006, two case definitions for influenza are being recorded in parallel.

Data from 1 January to 30 September 2006 compared with 2005 are shown as the rate per 1,000 consultations in Figures 9 and 10.

Figure 9. Consultation rates for influenza-like illness, ASPREN, 1 January to 30 September 2006, by week of report



Figure 10. Consultation rates for gastroenteritis, ASPREN, 1 January to 30 September 2006, by week of report



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Childhood immunisation coverage

Tables 6, 7 and 8 provide the latest quarterly report on childhood immunisation coverage from the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR).

The data show the percentage of children fully immunised at age 12 months for the cohort born between 1 April and 30 June 2005; at 24 months of age for the cohort born between 1 April and 30 June 2004; and at 6 years of age for the cohort born between 1 April and 30 June 2000, according to the Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule.

For information about the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register see Surveillance systems reported in CDI, published in Commun Dis Intell 2006;30:157 and for a full description of the methodology used by the Register see Commun Dis Intell 1998;22:36-37.

Commentary on the trends in ACIR data is provided by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (NCIRS). Telephone: +61 2 9845 1256. Email: brynleyh@chw.edu.au

Immunisation coverage for children 'fully immunised' at 12 months of age for Australia increased marginally by 0.1 percentage points to 90.8 per cent (Table 6), whilst there were no important changes in coverage for all individual vaccines due at 12 months of age. There were no significant movements in coverage for individual vaccines by jurisdiction.

Table 6. Percentage of children immunised at 1 year of age, preliminary results by vaccine and state or territory for the birth cohort 1 April to 30 June 2005; assessment date 30 September 2006

Vaccine	State or territory								Australia
	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA
Number of children	1,036	22,738	944	14,415	4,481	1,495	16,140	6,663	67,912
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (%)	91.3	91.7	91.3	91.9	91.8	94.3	92.7	90.1	91.9
Poliomyelitis (%)	91.1	91.6	91.1	91.9	91.6	94.1	92.6	90.1	91.8
Haemophilus influenzae type b (%)	94.7	94.5	95.8	94.1	94.1	96.1	94.7	93.6	94.4
Hepatitis B (%)	94.8	94.8	95.9	93.9	94.2	95.9	94.5	93.6	94.4
Fully immunised (%)	90.6	90.9	90.6	90.4	90.6	93.8	91.3	89.4	90.8
Change in fully immunised since last quarter (%)	-0.1	+0.8	0.0	-0.4	-0.4	0.0	-0.5	+0.2	+0.1

Immunisation coverage for children 'fully immunised' at 24 months of age for Australia decreased marginally from the last quarter by 0.2 percentage points to 92.2 per cent (Table 7). There were no significant changes in coverage in any jurisdiction for 'fully immunised' coverage or for coverage for individual vaccines. It is notable that the estimate for 'fully immunised' at 24 months of age has been higher than the 12 months coverage estimate since the 18 month DTPa booster was no longer required from September, 2003.

It is also notable that, for the two vaccines where no further doses are due between 6 months and 24 months of age (DTP and polio), coverage at the national level was 95.1 per cent and 95.0 per cent respectively at 24 months versus 91.9 and 91.8 per cent at 12 months. This suggests that delayed notification or delayed vaccination is making an important contribution to the coverage estimates at 12 months of age and that the 'fully immunised' estimate in particular is likely to be a minimum estimate.

Top of pageTable 7. Percentage of children immunised at 2 years of age, preliminary results by vaccine and state or territory for the birth cohort 1 April to 30 June 2004, assessment date 30 September 2006

Vaccine	State or territory								Australia
	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA
Number of children	983	20,991	884	13,039	4,257	1,338	15,157	6,519	63,168
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (%)	95.8	94.7	96.6	94.6	95.3	96.0	96.0	94.7	95.1
Poliomyelitis (%)	95.9	94.6	96.2	94.5	95.2	96.0	96.0	94.6	95.0
Haemophilus influenzae type b (%)	94.7	93.0	95.1	93.5	93.9	94.7	94.7	92.9	93.7
Measles, mumps, rubella (%)	94.9	93.1	95.7	93.5	94.4	94.5	95.0	93.4	93.9
Hepatitis B (%)	95.8	95.6	97.3	95.3	95.9	96.3	96.6	95.1	95.8
Fully immunised (%)	93.8	91.4	94.6	91.6	92.7	93.8	93.7	91.2	92.2
Change in fully immunised since last quarter (%)	-0.4	-0.3	+0.1	-0.6	+0.5	+0.2	+0.1	-0.1	-0.2

* The 12 months age data for this cohort was published in Commun Dis Intell 2005;29:115.

Table 8 shows immunisation coverage estimates for 'fully immunised' and for individual vaccines at six years of age for Australia and by state or territory. Surprisingly, 'fully immunised' coverage for Australia increased significantly by 3.5 percentage points and is now at the highest level ever recorded since it was first reported in early 2003. Coverage increased significantly in almost all jurisdictions and for all individual vaccines except in the Northern Territory where it decreased by 2.5 percentage points. Tasmania, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory experienced the most significant increases for 'fully immunised' coverage, 6, 4.4 and 4.4 percentage points respectively. A possible factor in this increase in coverage at 6 years of age is the introduction of the multivalent combination vaccine Infanrix-IPV onto the schedule that occurred in November 2005, reducing the number of vaccines to be recorded from three to two. Other factors which may have had an impact at the local level include promotional campaigns centred around childcare or school entry or data cleaning activities.

Table 8. Percentage of children immunised at 6 years of age, preliminary results by vaccine and state or territory for the birth cohort 1 April to 30 June 2000; assessment date 30 September 2006

Vaccine	State or territory								Australia
	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA
Number of children	1,082	22,382	870	13,573	4,597	1,562	15,821	6,606	66,493
Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (%)	88.9	87.0	82.9	87.0	85.2	89.2	89.6	81.9	87.0
Poliomyelitis (%)	88.6	87.0	83.9	87.2	85.3	89.5	89.7	82.0	87.1
Measles, mumps, rubella (%)	88.6	87.0	83.5	87.3	85.0	89.7	89.7	82.0	87.1
Fully immunised (%)	87.6	86.2	82.2	86.2	84.5	88.6	89.0	80.7	86.2
Change in fully immunised since last quarter (%)	+4.4	+3.1	-2.5	+4.4	+2.2	+6.0	+3.9	+3.4	+3.6

Figure 11 shows the trends in vaccination coverage from the first ACIR-derived published coverage estimates in 1997 to the current estimates. There is a clear trend of increasing vaccination coverage over time for children aged 12 months, 24 months and 6 years, although the rate of increase has slowed over the past two years in all age groups.

Figure 11. Trends in vaccination coverage, Australia, 1997 to 2006, by age cohorts



There have now been 12 consecutive quarters where 'fully immunised' coverage at 24 months has been greater than 'fully immunised' coverage at 12 months, following the removal of the requirement for the 18 month DTPa vaccine. Both measures have been above 90 per cent for this period Currently, coverage for the more recent vaccines, meningococcal C conjugate at 12 months and pneumococcal conjugate at 2, 4, and 6 months, are not included in the 12 or 24 months coverage data respectively.

Acknowledgement: These figures were provided by Medicare Australia, to specifications provided by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. For further information on these figures or data on the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register please contact the Immunisation Section of Medicare Australia: Telephone: +61 2 6124 6607.

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Gonococcal surveillance

John Tapsall, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, 2031 for the Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme.

The Australian Gonococcal Surveillance Programme (AGSP) reference laboratories in the various States and Territories report data on sensitivity to an agreed 'core' group of antimicrobial agents quarterly. The antibiotics currently routinely surveyed are penicillin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin and spectinomycin, all of which are administered as single dose regimens and currently used in Australia to treat gonorrhoea. When in vitro resistance to a recommended agent is demonstrated in 5 per cent or more of isolates from a general population, it is usual to remove that agent from the list of recommended treatment.¹ Additional data are also provided on other antibiotics from time to time. At present all laboratories also test isolates for the presence of high level (plasmid-mediated) resistance to the tetracyclines, known as TRNG. Tetracyclines are however, not a recommended therapy for gonorrhoea in Australia. Comparability of data is achieved by means of a standardised system of testing and a program-specific quality assurance process. Because of the substantial geographic differences in susceptibility patterns in Australia, regional as well as aggregated data are presented. For more information about the program see Surveillance systems reported in CDI, published in Commun Dis Intell 2006;30:157.

NOTE. This report completes 25 years of continuous quarterly surveillance by the AGSP.

Reporting period 1 April to 30 June 2006

The AGSP laboratories received a total of 1,144 isolates in this quarter of which 1,107 underwent susceptibility testing. This was about 11 per cent more than the 1,028 gonococci reported for the same period in 2005. About 27 per cent of this total was from New South Wales, 23 per cent from Victoria, 16 per cent from the Northern Territory, 13 per cent from Queensland and 9 per cent from each of Western Australia and South Australia. Small numbers of isolates were also received from Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Penicillins

In this quarter 363 (32.8%) isolates examined were penicillin resistant by one or more mechanisms. Eighty-four (7.6%) were penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) and 279 (25.2%) resistant by chromosomal mechanisms, (CMRNG). While the number and proportion of PPNG was essentially unchanged from the equivalent period in 2005, the number and proportion of CMRNG increased from the 188 (18.7%) seen last year. The proportion of all strains resistant to the penicillins by any mechanism ranged from 4.5 per cent in the Northern Territory to 53 per cent in New South Wales. High rates of penicillin resistance were also found in Victoria (43%), Queensland (25%) and Western Australia (21%).

Figure 12 shows the proportions of gonococci fully sensitive (MIC ≤0.03 mg/L), less sensitive (MIC 0.06-0.5 mg/L), relatively resistant (MIC ≥1 mg/L) or else PPNG, aggregated for Australia and by state and territory. A high proportion those strains classified as PPNG or CMRNG fail to respond to treatment with penicillins (penicillin, amoxycillin, ampicillin) and early generation cephalosporins.

Figure 12. Categorisation of gonococci isolated in Australia, 1 April to 30 June 2006, by penicillin susceptibility and region

FS fully sensitive to penicillin, MIC ≤0.03 mg/L.
LS less sensitive to penicillin, MIC 0.06–0.5 mg/L.
RR relatively resistant to penicillin, MIC ≥1 mg/L.
PPNG penicillinase producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

In New South Wales and Victoria most of the penicillin resistance was due to CMRNG. In New South Wales (131, 43%) were CMRNG with 29 PPNG (9.6%) and in Victoria 109 (40%) were CMRNG and 15 (5.6%) PPNG. In Queensland 21 (14.7%) isolates were CMRNG and 15 (10.5%) were PPNG. In Western Australia PPNG were more prominent (17% of the 100 isolates) with 4 per cent CMRNG. All five resistant strains in South Australia were CMRNG. Six of the eight penicillin resistant isolates in the Northern Territory were from Darwin and five of these were PPNG. Both PPNG and CMRNG were reported from Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

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Ceftriaxone

Seven isolates with decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone (MIC range 0.06–0.12 mg/L) were detected, five in New South Wales and one each in Queensland and Western Australia.

Spectinomycin

All isolates were susceptible to this injectable agent.

Quinolone antibiotics

The total number and proportion, (373, 33.7%) of quinolone resistant N. gonorrhoeae (QRNG) continued to increase when compared with corresponding figures in the second quarter of recent years. In 2005, 307 (30%) QRNG were detected, in 2004 there were 172 (20%) and in 2003, 135 (14%). The majority of QRNG in the current period (367, 98%) exhibited higher-level resistance (ciprofloxacin MICs 1 mg/L or more). QRNG are defined as those isolates with an MIC to ciprofloxacin equal to or greater than 0.06 mg/L. QRNG are further subdivided into less sensitive (ciprofloxacin MICs 0.06-0.5 mg/L) or resistant (MIC ≥1 mg/L) groups.

QRNG were again widely distributed and were detected in all states and territories (Figure 13). The highest number (167) and proportion (55%) of QRNG were found in New South Wales. QRNG were also prominent in Victoria where 118 QRNG represented 44 per cent of isolates and in Queensland (47 QRNG, 33%). In South Australia there were 14 (13.7%) QRNG, in Western Australia 13 (13%) and six (3.4%) in the Northern Territory. Five QRNG were present in the Australian Capital Territory and three in Tasmania.

Figure 13. The distribution of quinolone resistant isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Australia, 1 April to 30 June 2006, by jurisdiction

LS QRNG = Ciprofloxacin MICs 0.06-0.5 mg/L
R QRNG = Ciprofloxacin MICs ≥1 mg/L

High level tetracycline resistance

The number (117) and proportion (10.6%) of high level tetracycline resistance (TRNG) detected were less than the 131 (13%) reported in this period of 2005. TRNG were found in all states and territories. The highest proportion of TRNG in any jurisdiction (34%) was in Western Australia.

Reference

1. Management of sexually transmitted diseases. World Health Organization 1997; Document WHO/GPA/TEM94.1 Rev.1 p 37.

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Meningococcal surveillance

John Tapsall, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, 2031 for the Australian Meningococcal Surveillance Programme.

The reference laboratories of the Australian Meningococcal Surveillance Programme report data on the number of laboratory confirmed cases confirmed either by culture or by non-culture based techniques. Culture positive cases, where a Neisseria meningitidis is grown from a normally sterile site or skin, and non-culture based diagnoses, derived from results of nucleic acid amplification assays and serological techniques, are defined as invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) according to Public Health Laboratory Network definitions. Data contained in the quarterly reports are restricted to a description of the number of cases per jurisdiction, and serogroup, where known. A full analysis of laboratory confirmed cases of IMD is contained in the annual reports of the Programme, published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence. For more information about the program see Surveillance systems reported in CDI, published in Commun Dis Intell 2006;30:157.

Laboratory-confirmed cases of invasive meningococcal disease for the period 1 July to 30 September 2006, are included in this issue of Communicable Diseases Intelligence (Table 9).

Table 9. Number of laboratory confirmed cases of invasive meningococcal disease, Australia, 1 July to 30 September 2006, by jurisdiction and serogroup

Jurisdiction	Yr	Serogroup
		A		B		C		Y		W135		ND		All
		Q3	ytd	Q3	ytd	Q3	ytd	Q3	ytd	Q3	ytd	Q3	ytd	Q3	ytd
ACT	06			1	1	0	1	0		0		0		1	1
	05			2	3	1	3			0	1			3	7
	04			0	3	3	7							3	10
NSW	06			24	46	9	13	0	1	1	3	2	5	36	68
	05			27	60	4	13	0	3	4	7	2	3	37	86
	04			22	60	6	15	1	3	2	4	3	14	34	96
NT	06			1	3									1	3
	05			2	5	0	2			0				2	7
	04			0	5	0	0			0	1			0	6
	06	0	2	20	45	0	4			1	1			21	52
Qld	05	0	0	13	34	5	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	18	45
	04	0	1	13	36	8	20	0	1	1	2	0	2	22	62
SA	06			3	9	0	0	0	1	1	1			4	11
	05			9	13	1	3							10	16
	04			2	11	1	1							3	12
Tas	06			0	3	0	1							0	4
	05			4	6	0	0							4	6
	04			3	6	5	5			0	1	1	3	9	15
	06			18	47	1	3	0	1	3	5	1	1	23	57
Vic	05			26	41	3	6	1	1	1	3	2	3	33	55
	04			17	45	3	12	0	3	2	2	1	3	23	65
WA	06			6	15	0	0	0	0	1	1			7	16
	05			20	29	0	0	0	2		0			20	31
	04			11	23	2	4			1	1			14	28
	06	0	2	73	169	10	22	0	3	7	10	3	6	93	212
Aust	05	0	1	103	191	14	38	1	6	5	11	4	6	127	253
	04	0	1	68	189	28	64	1	7	6	11	5	22	108	294

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HIV and AIDS surveillance

National surveillance for HIV disease is coordinated by the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR), in collaboration with State and Territory health authorities and the Commonwealth of Australia. Cases of HIV infection are notified to the National HIV Database on the first occasion of diagnosis in Australia, by either the diagnosing laboratory (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria) or by a combination of laboratory and doctor sources (Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia). Cases of AIDS are notified through the State and Territory health authorities to the National AIDS Registry. Diagnoses of both HIV infection and AIDS are notified with the person's date of birth and name code, to minimise duplicate notifications while maintaining confidentiality.

Tabulations of diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS are based on data available three months after the end of the reporting interval indicated, to allow for reporting delay and to incorporate newly available information. More detailed information on diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS is published in the quarterly Australian HIV Surveillance Report, and annually in 'HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia, annual surveillance report'. The reports are available from the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, 376 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst NSW 2010. Internet: http://www.med.unsw.edu.au/nchecr. Telephone: +61 2 9332 4648. Facsimile: +61 2 9332 1837. For more information see Surveillance systems reported in CDI, published in Commun Dis Intell 2006;30:159.

HIV and AIDS diagnoses and deaths following AIDS reported for 1 April to 30 June 2006, as reported to 30 September 2006, are included in this issue of Communicable Diseases Intelligence (Tables 10 and 11).

Table 10. New diagnoses of HIV infection, new diagnoses of AIDS and deaths following AIDS occurring in the period 1 April to 30 June 2006, by sex and state or territory of diagnosis

	Sex	State or territory								Total for Australia
		ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA	This period 2006	This period 2005	Year to date 2006	Year to date 2005
HIV diagnoses	Female	0	7	0	3	0	0	7	3	20	21	59	47
	Male	1	58	0	19	2	0	72	14	166	247	387	451
	Not reported	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total*	1	65	0	22	2	0	79	17	186	268	447	498
AIDS diagnoses	Female	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	6	5	14
	Male	0	4	0	0	0	0	4	1	9	51	45	94
	Total*	0	5	0	0	0	0	5	1	11	57	50	108
AIDS deaths	Female	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
	Male	0	5	0	0	0	0	3	1	9	14	20	28
	Total*	0	5	0	0	0	0	3	1	9	14	22	30

* Persons whose sex was reported as transgender are included in the totals.

Table 11. Cumulative diagnoses of HIV infection, AIDS and deaths following AIDS since the introduction of HIV antibody testing to 30 June 2006, and reported by 30 September 2006,by sex and state or territory

	Sex	State or territory								Aust
		ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA
HIV diagnoses	Female	32	841	18	253	94	8	351	192	1,789
	Male	258	13,258	128	2,645	898	96	5,130	1,182	23,595
	Not reported	0	231	0	0	0	0	22	0	253
	Total*	290	14,359	146	2,907	993	104	5,523	1,381	25,703
AIDS diagnoses	Female	10	246	3	68	32	4	106	37	506
	Male	93	5,336	42	1,011	395	50	1,943	419	9,289
	Total*	103	5,599	45	1,081	428	54	2,059	458	9,827
AIDS deaths	Female	7	136	1	41	20	2	60	24	291
	Male	73	3,567	26	654	274	32	1,391	292	6,309
	Total*	80	3,713	27	697	294	34	1,459	317	6,621

* Persons whose sex was reported as transgender are included in the totals.

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National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance System

The National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance System (NEPSS) collects, analyses and disseminates data on human enteric bacterial infections diagnosed in Australia. Communicable Diseases Intelligence NEPSS quarterly reports include only Salmonella. NEPSS receives reports of Salmonella isolates that have been serotyped and phage typed by the six Salmonella laboratories in Australia. Salmonella isolates are submitted to these laboratories for typing by primary diagnostic laboratories throughout Australia.

A case is defined as the isolation of a Salmonella from an Australian resident, either acquired locally or as a result of overseas travel, including isolates detected during immigrant and refugee screening. Second and subsequent identical isolates from an individual within six months are excluded, as are isolates from overseas visitors to Australia. The date of the case is the date the primary diagnostic laboratory isolated Salmonella from the clinical sample.

Quarterly reports include historical quarterly mean counts. These should be interpreted cautiously as they may be affected by outbreaks and by surveillance artefacts such as newly recognised and incompletely typed Salmonella.

NEPSS may be contacted at the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit, Public Health Laboratory, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne; by telephone: +61 3 8344 5701, facsimile: +61 3 8344 7833 or email joanp@unimelb.edu.au

Scientists, diagnostic and reference laboratories contribute data to NEPSS, which is supported by state and territory health departments and the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

Reports to the National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance System of Salmonella infection for the period 1 July to 30 September 2006 are included in Tables 12 and 13. Data include cases reported and entered by19 October 2006. Counts are preliminary, and subject to adjustment after completion of typing and reporting of further cases to NEPSS. For more information see Commun Dis Intell 2006;30:159–160.

Third quarter 2006

There were 1,140 reports to NEPSS of human Salmonella infection in the third quarter of 2006, 31 per cent less than in second quarter of 2006. A winter nadir in reports of human salmonellosis is typical of seasonal trends in the incidence of salmonellosis in Australia. The second quarter count was five per cent less than the comparable third quarter of 2005 and around the ten-year historical mean for this period.

During the third quarter of 2006, the 25 most common Salmonella types in Australia accounted for 621 cases; 54 per cent of all reported human Salmonella infections. Eighteen of the 25 most common Salmonella infections in the third quarter of 2006 were also among the most commonly reported in preceding quarter. The combined count of S. Typhimurium phage type 135 and the similar phage-type 135a make these isolates by far the most common salmonellae in Australia, with most of these cases in the eastern mainland states and South Australia.

Other salmonellae manifesting increases over the recent historical average include S. Stanley (frequently acquired overseas), S. Kiambu (in Western Australia), S. Weltevreden (in Queensland) and S. Oranienberg and S. Potsdam (cases in various states and territories).

Table 12. Reports to the National Enteric Pathogens Surveillance System of Salmonella isolated from humans during the period 1 July to 30 September 2006, as reported to 19 October 2006

	State or territory								Australia
	ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA
Total all Salmonella for quarter	24	267	66	343	73	15	213	139	1,140
Total contributing Salmonella types	20	96	33	89	36	10	88	60	191

Table 13. Top 25 Salmonella types identified in Australia, by state or territories, 1 July to 30 September 2006

National rank	Salmonella type	State or territory								Total 3rd quarter 2006	Last 10 years mean 3rd quarter	Year to date 2006	Year to date 2005
		ACT	NSW	NT	Qld	SA	Tas	Vic	WA
1	S. Typhimurium PT 135	2	38	4	43	1	1	21	10	120	89	540	375
2	S. Saintpaul	1	5	4	28	2	0	3	6	49	46	317	322
3	S. Typhimurium PT 9	1	6	0	12	5	3	16	0	43	73	267	343
4	S. Stanley	2	9	0	6	1	0	10	3	31	17	73	53
5	S. Virchow PT 8	0	3	1	23	0	0	0	1	28	25	217	187
6	S. Typhimurium PT 170	0	14	0	5	0	1	4	1	25	25	270	405
7	S. Infantis	0	10	3	2	2	1	4	1	23	23	141	132
8	S. Birkenhead	0	12	0	10	0	0	0	0	22	23	219	154
9	S. Typhimurium RDNC	1	7	1	3	2	0	6	1	21	18	87	85
10	S. Typhimurium PT 197	0	2	0	15	1	0	3	0	21	15	84	490
11	S. Typhimurium PT 135a	0	1	0	0	20	0	0	0	21	2.7	42	16
12	S. Typhimurium PT 12	0	2	0	0	0	0	10	8	20	8	92	96
13	S. Oranienburg	1	0	0	7	0	0	6	5	19	7	131	32
14	S. Chester	0	3	1	7	1	0	3	3	18	22	119	143
15	S. Agona	1	7	0	5	1	1	1	2	18	13	56	52
16	S. Enteritidis PT 6a	0	2	0	1	1	0	4	10	18	8	36	74
17	S. Muenchen	0	1	6	3	3	0	1	3	17	17	121	113
18	S. Hvittingfoss	0	3	0	10	1	0	1	0	15	12	114	157
19	S. Kiambu	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	11	15	3	34	6
20	S. Weltevreden	0	2	3	9	0	0	0	0	14	9	76	43
21	S. Waycross	0	2	0	9	0	0	2	0	13	9	122	90
22	S. Potsdam	0	4	3	2	0	0	3	1	13	4.8	66	26
23	S. Newport	0	4	1	1	0	1	4	2	13	9	39	27
24	S. Anatum	0	2	1	6	1	0	1	1	12	12	89	53
25	S. Typhimurium U290	3	7	0	1	0	0	1	0	12	8	25	8

Acknowledgement: We thank scientists, contributing laboratories, state and territory health departments, and the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing for their contributions to NEPSS.


This article was published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 30, No 4, December 2006.