Data analysis of zoonoses notifications in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in Australia 1996-2021: implications for One Health

Tamara Riley; Raymond Lovett; Bonny Cumming; Anna Meredith; Neil E Anderson; Joanne Thandrayen

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1175835

Data analysis of zoonoses notifications in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in Australia 1996-2021: implications for One Health

Front Public Health. 2023 Oct 12:11:1175835. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1175835. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Tamara Riley¹, Raymond Lovett¹, Bonny Cumming², Anna Meredith³, Neil E Anderson³, Joanne Thandrayen¹

Affiliations

¹ National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
² Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities (AMRRIC), Darwin, NT, Australia.
³ The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Roslin, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Introduction: Zoonoses are a health concern for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia that face elevated risk of disease related to the environment and animals. Internationally, One Health is encouraged to effectively manage zoonoses by taking integrated approaches involving animal, human, and environmental health sectors to improve health outcomes. However, Australia's health systems manage zoonotic diseases in animals and people separately which does not support a One Health approach. For the effective management of zoonoses, a strong evidence base and database regarding the epidemiology of zoonotic pathogens is needed. However, we currently lack this evidence limiting our understanding of the impact of zoonoses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

Methods: As a first step towards building the evidence base, we undertook a descriptive analysis of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander zoonotic notifications in Australia from 1996 to 2021. We presented notifications as annual notification rates per 100,000 population, and percentages of notifications by state, remoteness, sex, and age group.

Results: Salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis were the most notified zoonoses with the highest annual notification rates of 99.75 and 87.46 per 100,000 population, respectively. The north of Australia (Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia), remote and outer regional areas, and young children (0-4 years of age) had the highest percentages of notifications.

Discussion: To our knowledge, these findings are the first national presentation of the epidemiology of zoonoses within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. A greater understanding of transmission, prevalence and impact of zoonoses on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (including animal and environmental health factors) is required to inform their effective management through a One Health approach.

Keywords: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; One Health; animal health; environment; public health; zoonoses.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Australia / epidemiology
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples* / statistics & numerical data
Child
Child, Preschool
Data Analysis
Disease Notification* / statistics & numerical data
Health Services, Indigenous / statistics & numerical data
Humans
One Health* / statistics & numerical data
Zoonoses* / epidemiology
Zoonoses* / transmission

Grants and funding

TR is supported by a scholarship from The Lowitja Institute. RL is supported by a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (1122273). BC is employed by AMRRIC—an organisation supported by the Australian Government.