The epidemiology of hospitalisations from four key environmentally sensitive zoonotic diseases in Queensland, 2012–2019

Zoonotic diseases whose transmission processes are sensitive to environmental characteristics represent an important public health burden in Australia, particularly in Queensland. This study aimed to analyse the epidemiology of hospitalisations from the four main environmental zoonotic diseases-leptospirosis, melioidosis, Q fever, and Ross River virus-from 2012 to 2019 in Queensland. Our analyses reveal an increasing trend of hospitalisation incidence for melioidosis, stable incidence for Q fever and Ross River virus infection, and a declining trend for leptospirosis. We identified sex and age disparities in hospitalisations, with males being more likely to be hospitalised for leptospirosis, melioidosis, and Q fever compared to females. We also uncovered discrepancies between hospitalisation and notification data, which could be attributed to diagnostic and reporting criteria. The findings of this study show that the epidemiological patterns of hospitalisation are different to the notification for the same diseases and underscore the importance of accurate recording and reporting of zoonoses-related hospitalisations to inform environmental public health interventions.