Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit

Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine

Head: Dr Karin Leder MBBS(Hons) FRACP MPH

Contact details

Infectious Disease Epidemiology includes the study of the prevalence of infections in populations, the identification of risk factors, and the development and evaluation of effective treatment measures and prevention strategies.

The unit focuses on areas of water quality and public health, environmental impacts on infections, travellers’ health, and health issues in immigrants and refugees. The unit is also involved in studies on infectious diseases which represent important problems in clinical practice, including post-operative infections and antibiotic resistant microorganisms.

Through its partnership in the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment, the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit is a leading centre for research on public health issues relating to drinking water quality. Research projects in this area include the health impacts of microbial pathogens in drinking water, and the development of improved monitoring and risk management systems for drinking water supplies.  More recently the research activities of the unit have expanded to include public health aspects of alternative water sources (including rainwater, greywater and recycled water). These lower quality water sources are being increasing used in urban areas for non-potable uses to conserve precious supplies of high quality drinking water, and as a result the potential for public exposure to these water types is increasing.

Staff

• Dr Martha Sinclair   BSc(Hons), PhD, Senior Research Fellow
• Ms Pam Hayes  BSc, Research Assistant

Doctoral students

• Ms Joanne O'Toole BAppSc, MBA, PhD student
• Ms Shelly Rodrigo, BSc(Hons), MFoodTech ,MPhil, PhD Student

Publications

Current/planned projects

• Health services utilisation and urban dual reticulation systems
• Exposure assessment for urban reticulation systems
• A series of exposure experiments: recycled water and alternative water sources
• Health effects of rainwater consumption
• Developing evidence-based strategic water quality monitoring systems
• Infections in travellers and refugees
• Risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) complicating coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG)

Recent projects:

• The Water Quality Study
• Economic evaluation of community gastroenteritis
• Norwalk-like viruses and drinking water
• Disinfection byproduct exposure assessment
• Case-control studies of cryptosporidiosis (Melbourne and Adelaide)
• A system for the early detection of outbreaks of water-related gastroenteritis
• The effect of chlorination on the rates of gastroenteritis
• Fluoridation of drinking water supplies 
• Drinking water and melioidosis
• Tuberculosis exposure in healthcare workers
• Vancomycin resistant Enterococcus (VRE) in hospital patients
• Epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)