Pediatrics

More than 100 children with hand, foot and mouth disease were taken to NSW hospitals by worried parents in the latest fortnightly surveillance report. However, NSW Health says the worst of the deadly enterovirus 71 (EV71) outbreak is likely to be over. While the number of children being admitted to hospitals with severe neurological complications […]

Hospitals in Australia’s capital have been ordered to establish an enhanced surveillance program following the outbreak of a dangerous childhood virus in NSW. A nasty strain of enterovirus 71 (EV71) is believed to have killed four young children and put more than 100 in hospital with complications like meningitis and encephalitis (brain swelling) in NSW. […]

Exposure to traffic fumes and air pollution can double a mother’s risk of giving birth to a child with autism, a new study has found. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that contaminants in the air, particularly diesel and mercury, dramatically affect the chance of a child being born with an autism […]

The number of children being hospitalised with the most severe symptoms of a dangerous virus, blamed for four deaths in a current NSW epidemic, has increased in latest weekly data. NSW Health surveillance data reveals eight children diagnosed with meningitis or encephalitis (brain swelling) — among neurological complications of enterovirus 71 (EV71) — were admitted […]

Children who spend a lot of time in front of the television are more likely to consume unhealthy soft drinks leading to obesity and health problems like diabetes. A study by the University of Gothenburg found that for every hour children sit staring at the screen, they are 50 per cent more likely to consume […]

The deaths of three young children believed to have been infected with a dangerous strain of a virus sweeping through childcare centres are being investigated by the NSW Coroner’s Office. Enterovirus 71 is being blamed for hospitalising at least 36 children with severe neurological symptoms, including meningitis, inflammation of the brain and muscle paralysis. Five […]

It was the last weekend of the school holidays in January 2012 when Susan McCubben noticed small bruises appearing on her eight-year-old daughter’s arms and legs. Zoe was an active girl, always upside down, turning cartwheels or doing somersaults on the trampoline and small bruises were quite common, but every minor knock or bump resulted […]

Half of Australians who oppose childhood vaccination get their information from the internet, while most supporters trust the advice of their GP. The finding, which emerged from the first national survey on our attitudes to vaccination, has sparked calls from medical experts for scientific evidence supporting childhood jabs to be made more accessible and user-friendly […]

They can’t read or write but four-year-old kids have already learnt to hate fat people. A Leeds University study found that children are overtly prejudiced against overweight people by the time they start kindergarten. Researchers showed 126 boys and girls aged four to six three versions of a specially-created story book. The story was exactly […]

Australian children are now so fat doctors are removing their tonsils so they can breathe. A shocking report in today’s Daily Telegraph revealed the toll the obesity epidemic is having on our children’s health. Westmead Children’s Hospital’s paediatric obesity specialist Dr Shirley Alexander said he had treated kids as young as 18 months, while some […]