Indigenous Australian children twice as likely to die from infections: study

Indigenous Australian children are twice as likely to die from infections, according to a study conducted by the University of Queensland released Monday.

Indigenous kids are also seven times more likely to contract golden staph, an infection commonly transmitted in hospitals, that has a 12 month death rate of between 20 to 35 percent.

The research, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, also determined Indigenous children are admitted to hospitals at several times higher rates due to infection, than non-Indigenous kids.

Despite numerous campaigns to address the issue, lead researcher Luregn Schlapbach from Queensland University's Mater Research Institute, says indigenous children are three times more likely to be admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) suffering from severe infections.

"Further research is needed to define risk factors and to develop and assess appropriately targeted interventions." Schlapbach said.

During 2002 to 2013, 82,000 children were admitted to ICU wards, with 4,864 of those being of Indigenous heritage. Endit