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Head lice are tiny insects that live in hair and feed on blood. Young children are more likely to get head live because they tend to have more head-to-head contact with other children, especially during playtime. They can cause itching of the scalp, but they do not cause disease. Lice can affect anyone, and are not a sign of dirty hair or poor hygiene.Symptoms include itchiness on the scalp, seeing live lice or nits (lice eggs) in the hair, and sores or red bumps on the scalp or neck from scratching.

Roseola is caused by a virus. It is a mild disease and is common in children aged 6 months to 3 years. It usually begins with a high fever that starts suddenly. The fever lasts 3 to 5 days and then a rash appears, usually as the child’s temperature returns to normal. The rash is usually fine, raised, red spots and can last from several hours to several days. The rash first appears on the trunk of the body and spreads to the arms and legs. The rash turns white (blanches) when pressed.

Rotavirus is a common cause of gastroenteritis (or ‘gastro’) in children. Symptoms include vomiting, fever and watery diarrhoea. It usually starts suddenly. Rotavirus mainly affects infants and young children up to 3 years of age. In cooler parts of Australia, rotavirus peaks in mid to late winter. In the northern tropical and arid parts of Australia, disease peaks are less predictable.Rotavirus gastroenteritis can cause dehydration because of the fluid lost through vomiting and diarrhoea.

RSV is a common virus affecting the lungs and breathing passages. RSV in children usually causes mild to moderate cold-like symptoms lasting from 8 to 15 days. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, coughing and wheezing.In young children and babies under 12 months old, RSV can cause a chest infection called bronchiolitis. Signs of bronchiolitis include wheezing and difficulty breathing. This may get worse over the first 3 to 4 days before starting to improve. Some children and adults (particularly the elderly) need hospital treatment for their RSV lung infection.

Rubella is caused by a virus and is usually a mild illness. Rubella is now rare in Australia because we have a vaccine.Symptoms begin like a cold, with a slight fever, sore throat and enlarged glands in the neck. A rash appears 2 to 3 days later, beginning on the face and spreading to the trunk. The spots are pale pink at first and join to form patches. The rash disappears after a few days.

Bronchiolitis is a potentially serious chest infection caused by a virus. The virus infects the small breathing tubes (bronchioles) of the lungs, which makes them inflamed. They then produce more mucus than normal, which causes breathing difficulties.

Bronchitis is a chest infection, usually caused by a virus. The virus makes the lining of the windpipe and bronchi (the tubes leading from the windpipe to the lungs) inflamed and swollen, so it produces more mucus than normal. This causes a cough and sometimes a pain in the throat or upper chest when coughing. Bronchitis is usually mild in children.

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a highly infectious disease caused by infection of the respiratory tract with a bacteria called Bordetella pertussis. It can affect babies, children and adults. Vaccination can prevent whooping cough.

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes gastroenteritis (or ‘gastro’) and occasionally bloodstream infection. Symptoms include diarrhoea (sometimes with blood or mucus in the faeces), fever, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting. The severity of the symptoms depends on the number of germs swallowed, the person’s age and their general health.Specific types of Salmonella cause typhoid and paratyphoid fever (see separate fact sheet). These can be more severe abdominal and bloodstream infections, but are generally only reported in returned travellers from countries where typhoid is common.

Scabies is an infestation of the skin by tiny, insect-like creatures called mites. Scabies affects people of all ages, sexes, races and standards of personal hygiene. Having scabies does not mean that people are unclean. Scabies is specific to humans. Animals can get mite infections that look the same, but they do not cause disease in humans.

Shigella is a germ that can cause a severe bowel infection. It is a type of gastroenteritis (or ‘gastro’). Symptoms include diarrhoea (sometimes containing blood or mucus), fever, vomiting and stomach cramps. Some infected people have no symptoms. Even very small numbers of the germs can cause an infection, so strict control measures are needed to stop it spreading.

Shingles (also called herpes zoster) is a painful, blistering rash. It is caused when the virus that causes chickenpox (varicella-zoster virus) reactivates in the body. Shingles only affects people who have previously had chickenpox. Shingles can affect people of any age, but is more common in those over 50. It rarely affects children under 3 years old. If someone gets shingles, prompt treatment with antivirals can reduce its severity and duration. Antivirals should be started as soon as possible after diagnosis.

Strep throat is a throat infection caused by bacteria called Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptococcus). The symptoms of strep throat can range from mild to severe. They include sore throat, painful swallowing, fever, swollen glands in the neck, and loss of appetite.Serious but rare complications of strep throat include scarlet fever, rheumatic fever and kidney disease.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common viral infection caused by a group of viruses known as enteroviruses. It is not related to the disease in cattle with a similar name (foot-and-mouth disease). Symptoms of hand, foot and mouth disease include tiny blisters on various parts of the body, including in the mouth, and on the fingers, palms of hands, buttocks, nappy area, soles of the feet, upper arms or upper legs. The blisters last a little longer than a week. The worst symptom is often the blisters in the mouth, which make it difficult for the child to eat or drink. In adults, the disease is rare and may cause mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. 

Thrush is caused by a germ (yeast infection) called Candida. Most people have this germ on their skin, in their mouth and in their gut, where it does not cause any trouble. However, it can sometimes cause infections, especially in moist places such as babies’ mouths, in skin folds or in the nappy area. It is often associated with nappy rash – if a nappy rash is not clearing after 3 days or not responding to the usual barrier cream, it may be thrush. Thrush often causes skin irritation or soreness, but is not usually dangerous.Thrush can also infect the vagina, or the nipples of breastfeeding mothers.Thrush may look like white spots or flakes. When the skin is involved it usually looks red with small spots or pimples (pustules) in the surrounding area.

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite is found in all parts of the world.Toxoplasmosis is rarely serious in healthy children or adults. Most people have no symptoms when infected with Toxoplasma gondii, but a minority will experience a flu-like illness, sometimes with swollen neck glands. It can, however, cause serious disease if a person’s immune system is weakened by conditions such as cancer.

Trachoma is an eye infection caused by a bacteria called Chlamydia trachomatis. Symptoms include red, sticky, itchy or painful eyes. Children may not show symptoms of trachoma, but repeated infections can cause blindness in adulthood.Trachoma can be treated with a single dose of an antibiotic. If left untreated, it can cause the eyelid to turn inward. The person's eyelashes then rub on the surface of the eye, damaging it. In Australia, trachoma is more common in remote areas with limited access to water and washing facilities, which makes good hygiene more difficult.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infection that can affect almost any part of the body, but it mostly affects the lungs. It is not common in Australia but is very common in other areas of the world.People with TB may have symptoms such as fever, tiredness, sweating (especially at night), weight loss and a persistent cough that does not go away with normal treatment. The cough may produce phlegm and sometimes blood. A chest X-ray can help diagnose TB.

Typhoid is a serious disease that needs immediate treatment. Symptoms usually develop 1 day to 2 weeks after exposure, and sometimes up to 2 months after. Symptoms include fever, headache, tiredness and stomach pain.Tyhoid is caused by infection with the bacteria Salmonella Typhi. Paratyphoid fever is a similar disease caused by a different but related bacteria, Salmonella Paratyphi. Paratyphoid infections are usually less severe than typhoid infections.Typhoid and paratyphoid are not common in Australia, but people can catch them if they travel to places such as India, Africa, Asia, South and Central America and the Middle East.

Warts are skin growths that are usually harmless. They look like thickened skin that is clearly different from the skin around them. They are usually round or oval shaped. Warts are caused by a virus (called the human papillomavirus) that enters the skin through scratches or other skin damage.There are several types of warts and they can appear in different places on the body. Mostly, there are only 1 or 2 warts, but sometimes there can be a lot in one area.