The Laverty Pathology 12th Annual Women’s Health Conference will be held this year on Saturday 15 March 2014 at the University of New South Wales
Click here to download the Invitation.
Click here to download the Registration Form.
The Laverty Pathology 12th Annual Women’s Health Conference will be held this year on Saturday 15 March 2014 at the University of New South Wales
Click here to download the Invitation.
Click here to download the Registration Form.
REGULAR Pap smears are the only way to prevent cervical cancer, says Professor Ian Frazer, co-developer of the vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes the disease.
“Australia is fortunate to have a very good screening program,” he says.
The Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation says cases of cervical cancer in women who have had a Pap smear at the recommended two-yearly intervals are extremely rare.
Despite this, four in 10 Australian women don’t adhere to the program.
A survey by the foundation shows two thirds of women aged 18 to 69 avoid the test because of embarrassment.
But foundation CEO Joe Tooma says it is startling women are avoiding a test that could potentially save their life.
The foundation is marking Cervical Cancer Awareness Week from November 18 by urging all women to sign up for an SMS Pap smear reminder service.
Prof Frazer says the test is essential for all women, including those who have had the HPV vaccine.
“It is critical that people understand they might have been vaccinated after they got the virus or they may be unlucky and have one of the rare strains not covered,” he said.
“Cervical cancer is an entirely preventable disease and if you take part in the pap smear program you will not get it.”
Women can opt in to the SMS by calling 1300 727 630.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,900 times in 2013. If it were a cable car, it would take about 32 trips to carry that many people.
Only at Laverty Pathology can you order a PCR with your Faecal MCS, giving you a faster diagnosis and more sensitive method than Faecal MCS alone.
To find out how to order the test, why to request a Faecal PCR and the advantages to the patient.
Download our information sheet by clicking HERE.

Children, even those without severe medical conditions, can die from the flu in as little as three days after symptoms appear, U.S. health officials warn. Between 2004 and 2012, flu complications killed 830 children in the United States, many of whom were otherwise healthy, according to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Most striking is that 35 percent of these children died before being hospitalised or within the first three days of developing symptoms, according to the report published online Oct. 28 in Pediatrics. “We found these influenza-related deaths can occur in children with and without medical conditions and in children of all ages, and that very few of these children have been vaccinated,” said lead author Dr. Karen Wong, a CDC medical epidemiologist.
Researchers who reviewed those deaths found that only 22 percent with a high-risk medical condition and just 9 percent without a significant medical condition had been vaccinated. Wong doesn’t know why so many children die so fast. “About a third of these children die within the first three days of their first reported symptoms,” she said.
One expert wasn’t surprised that many otherwise healthy children who died did so before being admitted to the hospital. “First, parents don’t realize that flu can be fatal,” said Dr. Marcelo Laufer, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Miami Children’s Hospital. Second, parents of children with chronic diseases “know the system better, so they come earlier than healthy patients,” he said. Because flu can progress so quickly, prevention is really the best strategy, Wong said. “And that’s why we recommend every child 6 months or older get vaccinated every year,” she said. Because an infant under 6 months of age can’t be given flu vaccine, Wong said it is vital that pregnant women get a flu shot to help protect their newborn, and that everyone likely to be near the baby also be vaccinated so they can’t pass flu to the infant. Wong said children who get the flu need to be watched carefully. She recommends getting in touch with the child’s doctor when symptoms start. “That’s especially true for kids with high-risk medical conditions and for very young children,” she explained. “These children are at especially high risk for flu complications.” Laufer, however, said a phone call to the doctor isn’t enough. “It’s very difficult for a paediatrician on the other side of the phone to understand how sick the child really is,” he said. Parents should take their child to the doctor or emergency department if they’re sicker than what one would expect with a common cold, he said. “Parents should realise that influenza is much more than sniffles,” Laufer added. “A kid with influenza is a kid who is very sick, is a kid who is lethargic, has decreased appetite, is not drinking as much and not urinating as much in addition to other flu symptoms,” he said. Wong added that early antiviral treatment is recommended for high-risk children who develop symptoms of influenza. “That’s another thing they can talk to their health care provider about,” Wong added.
Antiviral drugs include Tamiflu, Relenza, Symmetrel and Flumadine. In the study, Wong’s group found that of the 794 children whose medical history was known, 43 percent had no medical condition that put them at high risk of dying from flu. As for children with high-risk medical conditions who died, 33 percent had neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy or seizure disorder, and 12 percent had a genetic condition that put them at risk for flu complications. Asthma, lung disease, heart disease and cancer can also increase a child’s odds of dying from flu, the researchers noted. Each year in the United States, flu causes an estimated 54,000 to 430,000 hospitalisations and 3,000 to 49,000 deaths, with infection rates highest among children, according to the CDC.
Ian Kadish, CEO, Laverty Pathology presented on “Private Pathology Overview” at the National Pathology Forum 2013.
Click HERE to download a PDF copy of the presentation.
Also feel free to view the presentation by Ian Kasish HERE.
This annual conference provides a platform for the public and private sectors to come together and discuss all the latest issues affecting the pathology sector in Australia.
For more information, please visit the conference website: http://www.informa.com.au/pathologyforum
People in some rural areas of NSW are three times as likely to be obese as residents of Sydney’s north shore, according to data to be released on Thursday.
Sydney’s north shore and northern beaches have the lowest obesity rate in the nation, at 14 per cent, according to the figures from the National Health Performance Authority, which detail for the first time how the size of the obesity problem varies between different parts of the country. But in the Loddon-Mallee-Murray region, which includes communities such as Deniliquin, 41 per cent of people are obese. The figures are even more alarming when those who are merely overweight as opposed to obese are included. In the western NSW region, which includes Dubbo and Bathurst, almost four in five people are either overweight or obese. Even in the nation’s slimmest region by this measure, eastern Sydney, almost half of all people are carrying too much weight. Yet even these figures, which determine overweight and obesity according to body mass index, could significantly underestimate the scale of the problem. About 27 per cent of Australians have a body mass index which places them in the obese category. But researchers from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute and Monash University presented data to a Melbourne conference last week suggesting that according to their waist measurement – a more reliable predictor or disease – more than 40 per cent of Australians are likely to be obese. The authority’s figures showed rates of overweight and obesity increased with geographic remoteness and lower socio-economic status. A separate report from the authority showed a similar trend in rates of smoking, with Sydney’s north shore and northern beaches having the lowest proportion of adult daily smokers at 6 per cent. The part of NSW with the highest smoking rate was the Hume region, which includes Albury and Corowa, where 22 per cent of adults smoked daily. Nationally, the Grampians region of Victoria, which includes Ballarat, Ararat and Horsham, had the highest smoking rate, with 28 per cent of adults smoking daily. About 16 per cent of all Australians smoke daily. The Council of Australian Governments asked the authority to report rates of smoking, obesity and overweight by Medicare Local regions, the 61 organisations set up by the former Rudd and Gillard governments to plan and co-ordinate primary care. Performance Authority chief executive Diane Watson said the figures would help medical professionals and managers to target their efforts to the needs of their communities.
NSW FIGURES
MOST OBESE
Loddon-Mallee-Murray (includes Deniliquin) 41%
Central Coast 35%
Western NSW (includes Dubbo and Bathurst) 33%
Hunter 33%
Murrumbidgee (includes Wagga Wagga, Griffith and Gundagai) 32%
LEAST OBESE
Sydney north shore and northern beaches 14%
Eastern Sydney 15%
Northern Sydney 20%
Inner west Sydney 21%
Southern NSW (includes Moruya, Goulburn and Queanbeyan) 23%
Source: National Health Performance Authority
NSW Health has warned people to be on the lookout for measles symptoms after three Sydney men fell ill with the infectious disease.
The men, aged between 25 and 35, may have been infected when they recently spent time in Sydney’s inner suburbs, including Alexandria, Waterloo, Earlwood and Hurlstone Park. They also visited medical centres in Rozelle, Croydon and Rockdale and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital emergency department while infectious in the past week. NSW Health communicable diseases director Dr Vicky Sheppeard says measles is highly contagious among people who are not fully immunised. “Measles is highly infectious and is spread through coughing and sneezing,” she said. “Symptoms can include fever, tiredness, runny nose, cough and sore red eyes which usually last for several days before a red, blotchy rash appears.” Complications can range from ear infection and diarrhoea to pneumonia or swelling of the brain. Dr Sheppeard warned parents of infants or others not fully vaccinated to watch for signs of measles. “If symptoms develop, please phone ahead when seeking medical attention to ensure you don’t share the waiting area with other patients,” she said. Children should receive two vaccine doses, one at 12 months and another at 18 months, while anyone born after 1966 should have two vaccine doses at least four weeks apart, she said. NSW Health offers free measles, mumps and rubella vaccine for people up to 47 years old.
HIV diagnoses are rising at a record rate as an increasing number of gay Australians admit having unprotected casual sex, according to two major reports.
An annual surveillance report says 1253 people were diagnosed in 2012 and around 30,000 infected people know they have the virus. But the 10 to 25 per cent of infected people who do not know their status is a challenge, says lead author, Associate Professor David Wilson of the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). “We need to focus on getting people diagnosed and initiating therapy to improve their health and reduce the risk of transmission,” says Prof Wilson, whose report will be presented at the Australasian HIV and AIDS Conference in Darwin on Monday. Another report to be presented at the conference shows close to 40 per cent of gay men admit having unprotected casual sex at least once in 2012. “We’re at the highest level recorded in our surveys of gay and bisexual men,” says lead author Associate Professor John de Wit, director of the UNSW Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH). The biggest increase is among those aged under 25, who are less likely to have been exposed to HIV-prevention campaigns. He says about 10 per cent of gay men are HIV-positive and many do not know their status. There has been a significant increase in the proportion of HIV-positive people being treated with antiretroviral therapy, according to his report. And the treatment is working, with 93 per cent of patients having an undetectable viral load, compared with 74 per cent in 2003. “But the prevention benefits of treatment are being offset by increases in risk-taking since treatment became available,” he says. “I would not call it complacency. People know it is serious. But they take risks in the heat of the moment.” The report shows an increasing number of gay men are prepared to disclose their status to casual partners, but many do not know their status and this is unlikely to be as effective as consistent condom use. Treatment levels could be as low as 50 per cent, says Robert Mitchell, president of the National Association of People with HIV Australia. “Australia needs a new National HIV Strategy to replace the current one which is completely out of date.”