Infectious Diseases
A disease is considered to be infectious if it has the ability to be transfered from person to person via air, food, water, or from animals or insect vectors. The spread of many serious infectious diseases, such as measles, polio, whooping cough and chickenpox can be easily prevented through routine childhood immunisation. As a result, these diseases are not common in Australia. Some, such as polio, have been completely eradicated from our region. Others, such as measles, occur from time to time, often when non-immunised persons travel to regions where the infection remains prevalent.
Unfortunately, not all infectious diseases have been, or can be, eradicated through vaccination. The vaccine for tuberculosis is only about 50% effective and the disease remains common in many of our neighbouring countries where living conditions are not so good. Some common infectious diseases in Australia include: the common cold, the flu, gastroenteritis, and sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia, genital warts, herpes, gonorrhoea and HIV.
Children, the elderly, the chronically ill, those on immune-suppressing medications, smokers and those with respiratory problems, are at a higher risk of experiencing complications from contracting an infectious disease.
The good news is that many infectious diseases can be prevented through good hygiene practices (such as hand washing), education about the specific types of diseases and how they are transmitted, and implementation of effective preventative measures.
How We Care
We believe that prevention is the best method of limiting the negative impact of infectious disease in our community. This is achieved through the administration of routine childhood immunisations, and specific travel immunisations for those going to exotic overseas destinations. Our doctors provide patients with educational information and advice about good hygiene and food preparation practices, to reduce the spread of common infectious diseases.
Globe Medical has a special interest in Travel Medicine and infectious diseases. Several of our doctors have specific training in this field, and are experienced in diagnosing and treating both common, and not so common infectious diseases. For more information about our expertise in tropical medicine, visit our Travel Health and Tropical Medicine medical capability. All of our friendly and approachable male and female doctors provide a discreet and non-judgemental approach to diagnosing and treating sexually transmitted infections.