Urgent warning as tens of thousands of Australian babies are struck down by contagious virus – as doctors warn infection rates could get even worse over winter

An urgent warning has been issued after tens of thousands of Australian babies have been struck down with respiratory syncytial virus.

So far in 2024 more than 47,000 cases of RSV have been recorded in children under the age of five, and doctors are predicting an even greater surge over the winter months.

As the Immunisation Foundation of Australia commenced its RSV Awareness Week on Sunday, doctors warn infection rates could get even worse over winter. 

‘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 told news.com.au.

RSV is a highly contagious respiratory virus which infects the airways and lungs and spreads through coughs and sneezes. 

RSV is a highly contagious respiratory virus which infects the airways and lungs and spreads through coughs and sneezes

It is particularly harmful to infants, as well as the elderly.

So far this year, 70 per cent of the RSV cases have been children under five, and more than 13,000 cases have been recorded in people aged 60 and over.

Ms Moore said the majority of children who are infected with RSV end up with a relatively mild case of the infection, but that for others it can be far more serious and in rare cases deadly.

‘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,’ she said. 

Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales have all implemented RSV infant immunisation programs this year, but the other states and territories currently do not have access to the vaccine.

This year, 70 per cent of the RSV cases have been children under five

Those who have a higher risk of severe infection from RSV include premature infants, Aboriginal peoples and those with weakened immune systems or neurological conditions.

According to the Immunisation Foundation of Australia, nationwide infant RSV immunisation would prevent 10,000 hospital admissions annually.

Dr Lisa McHugh, an infectious diseases and perinatal epidemiologist at the University of Queensland, said the number of active infections are expected to climb as temperatures drop.

‘At the start of winter, we’ve already recorded nearly two-thirds the total number of RSV cases reported in 2023. This is well ahead of the normal curve,’ she told Medianet.

‘Without immunisation, we know that around 12,000 Australian babies are hospitalised with pneumonia and bronchiolitis caused by RSV each year, with one-in four requiring intensive care. 

‘It’s wonderful that for the first time we can protect babies and the elderly from RSV, but it’s not sustainable to have infant immunisation programs in some states and not others, nor to ask older Australians to pay hundreds of dollars each year for RSV protection,’

Ms Hughes will join infectious disease experts in Federal Parliament House on Tuesday, 4 June to brief parliamentarians on the latest research into RSV.