718 Results

  • Dementia: Update on causes and prevention, including the role of COVID-19

    … there is good evidence that much of it is preventable. In particular measures overlap with those for: preventing … healthcare system – of neurodegenerative disorders, again in proportions not previously experienced by human … cases who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between scans (an average of 141 days separated COVID diagnosis and second …
    Briefing

  • Using Rapid Antigen Tests to improve COVID-19 control in Aotearoa NZ

    … particularly if COVID-19 infection becomes widespread. In this blog we briefly describe RATs, their performance, and … 1: Rapid Antigen Test kit given out freely from the NHS in the UK Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Aotearoa New … causes COVID-19). These COVID-19 tests became available in NZ in January 2020 [1] and use RT-PCR (reverse …
    Briefing

  • Are we ready to eliminate invasive meningococcal disease in Aotearoa New Zealand?

    … an opportunity to be permanently free of this disease. In this Briefing we consider the desirability and feasibility of eliminating IMD in NZ, and outline the potential next steps for evaluation of … identified one important obstacle to IMD elimination: in 2012 there was no effective vaccine against all forms of …
    Briefing

  • Reducing nicotine in smoked tobacco products: A pivotal feature of the Smokefree Aotearoa proposals

    … Here we examine the proposal to reduce the nicotine in smoked tobacco products to very low levels. We conclude … low levels? The action plan proposes reducing nicotine in smoked tobacco products to very low levels and mandating … are the only smoked tobacco products available for sale in New Zealand. This innovative policy could profoundly …
    Briefing

  • Pandemic terminology: getting it right matters for effective risk communication and management

    … for many weeks. Nevertheless, further improvements in NZ’s response are possible and in this blog we detail how pandemic terminology could be … Nevertheless, there is further scope for improvement. In this blog, we focus on a set of key terms where …
    Briefing

  • Health system costs in NZ: variation by sex, age & proximity to death

    … Second, there is much less variability by age for costs in the last year of life – indeed, the ‘costs of dying’ peak … by up to 4% by not explicitly allowing for increasing average age of death.     In New Zealand health expenditure … of disease (Fig 1). Fig 1: Health system costs for the average NZer at different ages, along with average morbidity …
    Briefing

  • NZ’s long-running Campylobacter epidemic from poultry: Now with antibiotic resistance

    … is the recent rapid emergence of antibiotic resistance in these Campylobacter infections acquired from locally produced poultry. In this blog we briefly detail these problems and explore … past NZ success of regulating lower contamination levels in poultry; (ii) publicise contamination levels by poultry …
    Briefing

  • Not forgetting the benefits to youth and non-smokers – an example from increases in tobacco taxes

    … protect youth and non-smokers from the burden of tobacco. In this blog we use the issue of tobacco tax increases to … older smokers may only gain relatively little, perhaps on average only a few extra months of life). Nevertheless, the … have financial savings since the costs of vaping are (on average) 8 to 12 times less than smoking (based on this NZ …
    Briefing

  • Highlights of the World Conference on Tobacco or Health

    … Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCToH) has just been held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In this blog post we describe some of the main themes and … thoughts about how these might relate to Smokefree 2025 in New Zealand. In summary, New Zealand can still learn a lot …
    Briefing

  • The Havelock North drinking water inquiry: A wake-up call to rebuild public health in New Zealand

    … The huge campylobacteriosis outbreak in Havelock North in August 2016 caused by contaminated drinking water was a … were probably the original source of infection, with heavy rain inundating paddocks, allowing contaminated water to …
    Briefing

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Public Health Expert Briefing (ISSN 2816-1203)