When acupuncture, chiropractic, and osteopathy practitioners refer to themselves as Doctor, it may imply that they are registered to practise medicine. The NZ telephone Yellow Pages shows that some practitioners of acupuncture, chiropractic, and osteopathy use the title Doctor but are not registered medical practitioners. This misleading using of the title of Doctor appeared to be far more common among chiropractors (73%) than acupuncturists (27%). This practice may also fall foul of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.

In this study a sample of inpatients at Gisborne Hospital was interviewed concerning their use and attitudes towards traditional, complementary and alternative medicines and therapies (TCAM). The great majority had used one or more such therapies and indicated that they intended to continue using them. The main therapies used were massage, vitamins, chiropractic, and herbals; many Māori respondents had used Rongoa (traditional Māori) remedies. Patients were generally not telling their doctors about these therapies, mainly because they were not being asked, and because they believed they are safe and free of risk. The authors suggest that patient care could be enhanced by better understanding of these issues by orthodox health practitioners.

There seems to be no evidence of human health effects as a result of exposure to the painted apple moth (Teia anartoides) in the field, despite this species common presence in urban and suburban gardens in Australia. There are, however, rare accounts of laboratory exposure in that country and New Zealand. Allergic and toxic reactions following exposure to arthropods are common occurrences, and exposure to any insect hairs may cause adverse reactions in susceptible people. Therefore, it is likely that some people would experience adverse reactions following exposure to the hairs on Teia anartoides caterpillars, and the possibility that more sensitive persons could experience more severe reactions cannot be discarded. However, in contrast to previous claims, the direct impacts on human health (as a result of the establishment of the painted apple moth in New Zealand) are likely be minor.

High levels of testing and detection of sexually transmitted infections occur in the Waikato. It is unknown how many of those most at risk—i.e. sexually active young people under-25 years of age—are tested each year. Rising numbers of gonococcal infections in recent years suggest ongoing sexual risk-taking behaviour. This study supports calls for better laboratory reporting and surveillance. More information on all tests, not just positive cases, would enable better data interpretation and more appropriate public health action.

A 14-year-old boy was diagnosed with infectious tuberculosis (TB) in Palmerston North in 2006. Initial contact tracing showed a high rate of infection among family contacts and among classmates at his secondary school. Testing of contacts was extended to the whole school as well as to some outside school. In all, 1828 contacts were Mantoux tested; 16 were diagnosed with TB, and a further 235 with latent TB infection. The cases all completed full treatment. The latent infection can cause disease in future, so treatment was offered to these 235 people; 232 started treatment and 227 (97.8%) finished. Students treated for latent infection took antibiotics twice a week for 4 months under supervision. This experience taught us the importance of early diagnosis of TB. The initial case was infectious for long enough to cause significant spread of the infection at school. The response was major and cost about $279,000. The very high compliance rates for testing and treatment are due to cooperation from family and school. Other key factors in the success of the response were communication with parents, teamwork between public health and clinical staff, school-based assessment and delivery of medication, and the choice of a twice-weekly 4-month course of isoniazid and rifampicin for treatment of latent infection

This study reviewed the border control strategies in the publicly available pandemic preparedness plans for the South Pacific Islands, New Zealand, and Australia. There was a substantial difference in the quality of the border control components of the six plans available. Some of this difference could be explained by the necessity to rationalise the range of border control strategies to match available resources. Plans from the more developed countries such as New Zealand and Australia had a greater level of detail than plans from smaller and less resourced island countries, but these plans could still benefit from further improvements.