Hope in drive to curb skin disease

By MARTIN JOHNSTON, health reporter

Hospital admissions of patients with serious skin infections have fallen by a third in one Auckland suburb, following an intensive public health campaign.

Doctors are cautious about the preliminary results, but hope they have found a key to reversing a trend of increasing hospital admissions.

Starting possibly with a cut or mosquito bite, cellulitis is a skin infection that penetrates below the surface. It can spread to half a limb or more and is treated with antibiotics.

Half of those admitted to hospital with it need surgical treatment.

It is the leading cause of admission to Starship children's hospital and is fourth on the list for adults admitted to Auckland City Hospital.

Admissions for it were rising by around 5 per cent a year.

Last year, the Auckland District Health Board started a campaign to reduce cellulitis in Glen Innes, which had one of the highest city rates.

From July to December, 30 to 40 cellulitis patients from Glen Innes were hospitalised, compared with 50 to 60 in the same period in 2002.

The $300,000 campaign included raising awareness through media ads and door-to-door advice on how to treat skin infections.

It has also involved developing treatment guidelines for doctors, working with Housing New Zealand on minimising risks at its properties (such as pooled rain water which allows mosquitoes to breed), and arranging rubbish collections.

One of the campaign workers' key findings is that many in the community see skin infections as normal.

They also found that most schools in the suburb lacked hand towels, leaving children at greater risk.

Dr Chris Bullen, of the Auckland Regional Public Health Service, has asked a board committee for $325,000 to fund the campaign for another year, but the committee asked for more information and deferred a decision to next month.

Board chairman Wayne Brown said members wanted to be assured the campaign delivered good value.