Our stories
Dolphins and infectious diseases: a story of toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. It is an important cause of disease in a wide range of species, including humans, domestic animals and wildlife species. Cats are the only known source of the infectious stage (the oocyst)...
If only there had been a vaccine
“Only clean water and antibiotics have had an impact on childhood death and disease that is equal to that of vaccines” - World Health Organization (WHO). In the 20th century, when most of you reading this were born, nearly 1.7 billion people died from infectious...
‘Gross us out Miss’: talking about chlamydia and other STIs with young people
Chlamydia is not a very sexy topic… it should be though, because it’s caught by having sex. It’s surprising how many young people don’t know how common chlamydia is. It’s easy to treat but it’s so much easier to prevent by using condoms when having oral, anal, or...
Healthy Homes Project
My name is Nick Pattison and I would like to share with you a citizen science investigation that I was involved in with my previous school Rongomai Primary, called the Healthy Homes Project. The project was created out of conversations between myself and other...
The two faces of infectious disease threats: we need to respond to both
Infectious diseases are far from defeated. They pose a unique health threat because they are caused by living micro-organisms. This biological fact has two important consequences: firstly it means that these micro-organisms are constantly evolving to exploit new...
Antibiotic resistance is looming but we can protect the children
In another life I used to sit on teams that developed something called ‘clinical guidance’. We would draw together published evidence and make recommendations on what best practice should look like. I sat on one such group for rheumatic fever. Rheumatic fever (RF) is...
Living with MRSA
Wash your hands all you want. Don’t touch things. Clean your cuts and grazes. Be careful all you can… but it won’t make any difference. An open wound will grow; it will cause rashes on your body and your skin to blister and weep. Once it’s in your blood stream, it...
HIV prevention in NZ: on a knife edge
HIV seems like a scourge of the eighties, but today new HIV diagnoses and the costs of medication are escalating out of control in New Zealand. The world’s most dangerous infectious disease epidemic of the modern era is being revived, fuelled by invisibility,...
Infertility: what’s it all about?
Infertility is defined as the inability for a couple having regular unprotected sexual intercourse to have a baby. Globally, the rate of fertility is declining but infertility still affects one in seven couples in New Zealand. In general, humans are generally not...
Infectious diseases in New Zealand
In the context of World Antibiotic Awareness week last week (November 14-20) and efforts to raise the awareness of infectious diseases in New Zealand, it is useful to include a discussion on viruses. Although few treatments and vaccines are currently available for...
A letter to the Ministry of Health
Below is a letter from Deputy Director Dr Siouxsie Wiles to the Ministry of Health requesting the Ministry's assistance in using infectious disease data from the Public Health Surveillance website coordinated by the The Institute of Environmental Science and Research...
InfectedNZ: the state of the nation
Last week was World Antibiotic Awareness week, an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness and understanding of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. To follow, here at Te Pūnaha Matatini we are launching a week-long conversation about the...