The PAEDS (Paediatric Active Enhanced Surveillance) Study monitors childhood conditions of public health importance that are difficult to effectively capture through other surveillance mechanisms.
Some surveillance systems rely on doctors reporting, and in other cases there are no surveillance systems in place at all. Often there is a reluctance to provide the necessary biological samples for surveillance purposes.
The PAEDS Study is coordinated by the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit (APSU) and the National Centre for Immunisation and Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (NCIRS).
The PAEDS Study commenced in 2007 and is an ongoing, national study involving surveillance of five childhood conditions at five hospitals across Australia. The study originally started with four childhood conditions at four hospitals.
The five participating hospitals are:
- Perth Children's Hospital, Perth, WA.
- Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, SA.
- Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Vic.
- Royal Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, NSW.
- Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD.
The five childhood conditions being monitored are:
- Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP), a condition causing paralysis and loss of tone in one or more limbs.
- Severe varicella (chicken pox) requiring hospitalization.
- Intussusception, a type of bowel obstruction in infants.
- Febrile seizures (active surveillance commenced in May 2013).
- Pertussis (whooping cough).
For further information, please visit their website http://paeds.edu.au