These researchers compared epidemiology data on serious skin infections among children in the Gisborne (Tairawhiti) region on the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island with equivalent national data, in an attempt to identify factors contributing to the consistently greater than average infection rates and significantly larger ethnic disparities in the Tairawhiti region. Hospitalisation data were reviewed for 0–14-year-old children in the Tairawhiti region discharged from hospital with a serious skin infection between 1990 and 2007; several demographic variables were compared to equivalent data for New Zealand cases over the same period. In Tairawhiti the age-adjusted incidence of serious skin infections increased from 641.1/100 000 in 1990–1999 to 988.4/100 000 in 2000–2007, while the New Zealand incidence increased from 354.3/100 000 to 531.7/100 000. In all regions, the highest infection rates were among preschool-aged children, Māori children, and those living in deprived neighbourhoods. The disparity between Māori and non-Māori children was significantly greater in Tairawhiti than nationally. The standardised ratio of observed to expected discharges in Tairawhiti compared with New Zealand was 1.42 (95% CI, 1.32 to 1.52) in 1990–1999 and 1.28 (95% CI, 1.19 to 1.36) in 2000–2007.
