Reasons recorded for presentation at the health centre during the first year of life for a cohort of 320 children born from 1 Jan 2001–31 Dec 2006 and living in one of five remote Aboriginal communities in East Arnhem land.

<p>̂The proportion of children presenting for a specified reason is equivalent to the cumulative incidence of that condition/reason during the first year of life.</p>*<p>IQR = Interquartile range.</p>†<p>Median number of presentations per child, per condition in the first year of life.</p>#<p>% of children with coded as having the same reason for presentation (recurrence) in the first year of life.</p

Median age at first clinic presentation for URTI, LRTI, scabies, skin sores, diarrhoea and ear disease in 5 remote communities in Northern Territory, Jan 01–Jan07.

<p>Median age at first clinic presentation for URTI, LRTI, scabies, skin sores, diarrhoea and ear disease in 5 remote communities in Northern Territory, Jan 01–Jan07.</p

Presentations to health centre by age in months.

<p>Presentations to health centre by age in months.</p

Incidence rate ratios (IRR) of skin sores in pre-exposure periods and exposed periods, among five Aboriginal communities.

<p>Incidence rate ratios (IRR) of skin sores in pre-exposure periods and exposed periods, among five Aboriginal communities.</p

Scabies and risk of skin sores in remote Australian Aboriginal communities: A self-controlled case series study

<div><p>Background</p><p>Skin sores caused by <i>Group A streptococcus (GAS)</i> infection are a major public health problem in remote Aboriginal communities. Skin sores are often associated with scabies, which is evident in scabies intervention programs where a significant reduction of skin sores is seen after focusing solely on scabies control. Our study quantifies the strength of association between skin sores and scabies among Aboriginal children from the East Arnhem region in the Northern Territory.</p><p>Methods and results</p><p>Pre-existing datasets from three published studies, which were conducted as part of the East Arnhem Healthy Skin Project (EAHSP), were analysed. Aboriginal children were followed from birth up to 4.5 years of age. Self-controlled case series design was used to determine the risks, within individuals, of developing skin sores when infected with scabies versus when there was no scabies infection. Participants were 11.9 times more likely to develop skin sores when infected with scabies compared with times when no scabies infection was evident (Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) 11.9; 95% CI 10.3–13.7; p<0.001), and this was similar across the five Aboriginal communities. Children had lower risk of developing skin sores at age ≤1 year compared to at age >1 year (IRR 0.8; 95% CI 0.7–0.9).</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The association between scabies and skin sores is highly significant and indicates a causal relationship. The public health importance of scabies in northern Australia is underappreciated and a concerted approach is required to recognise and eliminate scabies as an important precursor of skin sores.</p></div

Sensitivity analysis for the incidence rate ratios (IRR) of skin sores in pre-exposure periods and exposed periods.

<p>Sensitivity analysis for the incidence rate ratios (IRR) of skin sores in pre-exposure periods and exposed periods.</p

Self-controlled case series (SCCS) model with observation period, baseline period and risk periods.

<p>Self-controlled case series (SCCS) model with observation period, baseline period and risk periods.</p

Description of the datasets including follow-up duration and participant characteristics.

<p>Description of the datasets including follow-up duration and participant characteristics.</p