Australia has already recorded more than 47,000 cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children under five years of age in 2024, as the Immunisation Foundation of Australia commenced its RSV Awareness Week today.
Winter has only just begun, but the number of RSV cases is already nearly two-thirds of the total cases reported in 2023, according to the Immunisation Foundation of Australia.
“There are certainly higher rates at the moment for this time of year, than what we have seen in previous years,” Telethon Kids Institute Head of Infectious Disease Hannah Moore said.
RSV is particularly harmful to infants, but also affects people aged 60 and over.
So far this year, 70 per cent of the RSV cases are made up of children under five, with more than 13,000 cases being made up of people aged 60 and over.
Associate Professor Moore said the majority of children who are infected with RSV end up with a relatively mild case of the infection, similar to a common cold, but that for others, RSV can be far more serious.
“RSV is a respiratory virus that affects the lungs,” Professor Moore said.
“It’s commonly associated with bronchiolitis, a wheezing illness, and pneumonia, which is quite a severe lung infection.
“RSV affects mainly young children and infants, really infants under the age of six months, those that are at the highest risk of severe disease.
“RSV also impacts older adults as well, but by far the highest rates of disease that we see are in young infants.”
Around the world about 100,000 infant deaths are due to RSV infections in young children, with Professor Moore saying the majority of these deaths are seen in low-to-middle income countries.
Western Australia and Queensland very recently implemented RSV infant immunisation programs, in April this year.
Western Australia’s statewide program provides the vaccine to all infants at birth, as well as capturing children born since October 2022, particularly Aboriginal children and medically at-risk children.
The state has the most extensive infant immunisation program for RSV at present, Professor Moore said.
New South Wales implemented a similar infant immunisation program, NSW Health RSV vulnerable babies program, in March, but only for “vulnerable” medically at-risk children.
All other states and territories currently do not have access to the vaccine through a state-funded program, Professor Moore said.
Children who have a higher risk of severe infection from RSV include preterm children, First Nations babies and those with medical comorbidities like congenital, heart and lung and neurological conditions, Professor Moore said.
According to the Immunisation Foundation of Australia, nationwide infant RSV immunisation would prevent 10,000 hospital admissions annually.
The Foundation reports that more than 10,000 infants in Western Australia and similar numbers in Queensland have been immunised against RSV to date, an outcome they predict will likely prevent one hospital admission for every 25 babies immunised.
“In Western Australia, we’re actually trending lower than what we normally see for RSV infections,” Professor Moore said.
“However, we’ve had a very prolonged summer in WA and it’s really only in the last week that we’ve sort of felt like winter is here.
“So we’re fully expecting that we are going to see some increases in RSV activity, but at the moment in WA, the numbers are a little bit lower than what we normally see, much lower than this time last year.”
Around the rest of Australia, Professor Moore said we are seeing a large peak in cases of RSV.
“There’s been more cases in the East Coast, higher numbers in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia,” she said.
“So overall, there are certainly higher rates at the moment for this time of year than what we have seen in previous years.”
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Professor Moore said that a national immunisation program is the only way to achieve real health “equity” for all Australians.
“RSV is a significant cause of hospitalisation across all of Australia, not just in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, but across all of Australia,” she said.
“So I think it’s really important that we have an immunisation program that is available for all those who need it.”
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2024-06-02 05:56:22Z
CBMijwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9saWZlc3R5bGUvaGVhbHRoL3Jzdi1hd2FyZW5lc3Mtd2Vlay1jb3VsZG50LWNvbWUtc29vbi1lbm91Z2gtYXMtY2FzZXMtc3VyZ2UvbmV3cy1zdG9yeS8wMGNkMGU0Y2ZiZDRmZmEwMjAyZjgzNDFiMzRmZGYxOdIBAA
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