Communicable Diseases & Immunisation Conference 2024
This year’s Communicable Diseases & Immunisation Conference (CDIC) will be held in Brisbane from Tuesday 11 to Thursday 13 June 2024.
This year's conference theme is ‘Protecting Communities: empowering health through Disease Control and Immunisation’.
Earlybird registration closes on Friday 26 April 2024.
Learn more and register on the CDIC website.
Updated immunisation reference page: Translated influenza pages
MVEC has recently published translated versions of our 2024 influenza reference page. The page is available to read in Vietnamese, Hindi and Simplified Chinese.
The reference page details recommendations for flu vaccination in 2024, including:
- influenza strains included in this year’s vaccines
- brands available by age and funding
- commonly asked questions.
Switch between languages using the dropdown box on the page: MVEC: Influenza
Reminder: Victorian regional immunisation providers have the chance to win free registration for the upcoming CVU mini!
MVEC is offering regional immunisation providers from Victoria the opportunity to win free registration for the 21 June CVU mini on RSV preventative therapies – competition closes Monday 29 April 2024.
Complete this short survey to go in the running.
Learn more about the CVU mini on our event page.
New reference page: West Metro Health Services Partnership campaign
MVEC has recently published a new immunisation reference page, hosting the West Metro Health Services Partnership’s (WMHSP) campaign on COVID-19 and influenza vaccination advice for people with low vaccination rates.
The page includes advice provided by doctors at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Children’s Hospital.
WMHSP: COVID-19 and influenza vaccination advice for people with low vaccination rates
Immunisation Coalition: 2024 Annual Immunisation Forum
The Immunisation Coalition will be hosting their 8th Annual Immunisation Forum on 14 June 2024 in Brisbane.
The free, full-day event for immunisation specialists can be attended in person or via Zoom. The event will explore topics such as aged care, new vaccines for older people, adjuvanted vaccines, vaccinations in primary care and pharmacy, managing vaccine hesitancy and targeting at-risk populations.
Learn more and register on the event page:
Immunisation Coalition: 2024 Annual Immunisation Forum
WHO: Nigeria begins rollout of new Men5CV vaccine
Nigeria is the first country in the world to roll out the new Men5CV vaccine. Men5CV protects recipients against five strains of the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria (A, C, W, Y and X).
Nigeria is one of the 26 meningitis-endemic countries of Africa, in the area known as the Meningitis Belt. Between 1 October 2023 and 11 March 2024, Nigeria reported 1,742 suspected meningococcal C cases, including 101 confirmed cases and 153 deaths.
The vaccination campaign aims to reach more than one million people aged 1 to 29 years.
WHO: In world first, Nigeria introduces new 5-in-1 vaccine against meningitis
WHO: 'Global hepatitis report 2024' highlights number of deaths due to hepatitis increasing
According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) 'Global hepatitis report 2024', viral hepatitis and tuberculosis were the second leading causes of death among communicable diseases in 2022, after COVID-19.
WHO estimates approximately 1.3 million people died of viral hepatitis in 2022 and 6,000 people are newly infected with viral hepatitis each day. An estimated 12% of the disease burden is among children.
WHO: Global hepatitis report 2024
Chemical Communications: Developing a vaccine for street drug xylazine
Researchers are developing a vaccine which blocks the toxic effects of the drug xylazine, a drug which has been a cause of many overdose deaths in the illicit drug trade in the USA and the UK.
The vaccine has worked in mice, although no human trials have been undertaken. The study findings have been published in the journal Chemical Communications.
Updated immunisation reference page: Q fever
MVEC has updated its Q fever reference page to reflect the recent closure of the Australian Q Fever Register.
All Q fever vaccines administered should now be reported exclusively to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). Those who have previously been vaccinated against Q fever, or who have previously registered their natural immunity on the Australian Q Fever Register, should ensure their AIR record is up to date.
MVEC: Q fever records now to be added to AIR
MVEC: Q fever
Updated immunisation reference page: Vaccine-associated enhanced disease
MVEC has recently updated its reference page on vaccine-associated enhanced disease (VAED).
VAED is a rare phenomenon where a person who has been vaccinated experiences a more severe clinical presentation of an infection than would normally be seen in an unvaccinated person.
The new page includes more detailed information on VAED diagnosis, and vaccines that have been associated with VAED.
MVEC: Vaccine-associated enhanced diseased