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Only four three of the disease types were correctly identified by more than 80% of the sample, those being HIV/AIDS, salmonella and influenza. Poorest results were observed for polio, infectious mononucleosis, diphtheria, shigella, Japanese B encephalitis, vancomycin resistant enterococcus and meningococcal meningitis, all with less than 50% of respondents achieving a correct response.

The Chain of Infection outlines the essential factors required for the spread of infectious disease, namely: causative agent, reservoir, susceptible host, transfer mode, entry point and exit point. Around twenty percent of the sample (19.4%, n=244) reported they did not know the answer. Knowledge and understanding of microbiology underpins infection control patient care practices of paramedics, as with all health care workers. The management of infectious diseases and limiting of the spread of these diseases requires knowledge of disease aetiology and epidemiology. Recognition of the early signs of infection informs timely provisional identification of the type of infectious disease, its etiological cause and the type of precautions needed to prevent transmission to others . This study suggests poor overall knowledge of infectious disease aetiology and epidemiology among paramedics. Paramedic knowledge of the aetiology of twenty-five (25) epidemiologically significant infectious diseases as determined by the NHMRC was found to be generally poor in this survey. The average proportion of respondents correctly identifying the aetiological cause for a disease was 59.3%. Interestingly, the most correctly identified cause of disease was that of HIV/AIDS, with almost all participants identifying correct aetiology.

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