As the leaves turn and the chill of winter approaches, Australian families are facing a health alert that's particularly concerning for the youngest and oldest among us.

The culprit? A highly contagious virus known as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has already affected tens of thousands of Australian babies and is expected to surge as the colder months set in.

In the first half of 2024 alone, over 47,000 cases of RSV have been recorded in children under the age of five, and the numbers are only expected to rise.

In light of these alarming statistics, the Immunisation Foundation of Australia launched an RSV Awareness Week on Sunday, June 2, to educate the public and advocate for better protection measures.

Over 47,000 cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have affected Australian infants and toddlers in the first 5 months of 2024 alone. Credits: Shutterstock

RSV is not a new threat; it's a common respiratory virus that typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms.

However, in infants, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems, it can lead to more severe respiratory illnesses like pneumonia and bronchiolitis.

Alarmingly, this year has seen a spike in cases, with 70 per cent of RSV infections occurring in children under five and more than 13,000 cases in individuals aged 60 and over.

The situation is dire enough that experts like Hannah Moore, Head of Infectious Disease at the Telethon Kids Institute, are raising the alarm.

‘There are certainly higher rates at the moment for this time of year than what we have seen in previous years,’ she cautioned.

‘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.’

The response to this growing health crisis has been varied across the country. Western Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales have taken proactive steps by implementing RSV infant immunisation programs.

However, other states and territories lag behind, leaving many children unprotected.

The risk is not evenly distributed. Premature infants, Aboriginal peoples, and those with weakened immune systems or neurological conditions are at a higher risk of severe infection from RSV.

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

Dr Lisa McHugh, an Infectious Diseases and Perinatal Epidemiologist at the University of Queensland, warned that the number of active infections is expected to climb as temperatures drop.

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

‘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,’ she added.

Dr McHugh and other infectious disease experts are taking this issue to the Federal Parliament House today, June 4, hoping to brief parliamentarians on the latest research into RSV and the urgent need for a unified response.

As the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to spread across Australia, particularly affecting vulnerable populations like babies and the elderly, the healthcare system is facing significant strain.

This contagious virus, which can cause severe respiratory issues such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia, led to a surge in hospitalisations and increased healthcare burden.

In parallel to the RSV outbreak, state health authorities are also grappling with a surge of COVID-19-like illnesses, further straining the healthcare system.

This dual challenge underscores the importance of robust public health strategies and the need for timely vaccinations to protect at-risk populations and ease the load on healthcare facilities.

Key Takeaways

• Tens of thousands of Australian babies have been infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), with over 47,000 cases reported in children under five.
• Infection rates are expected to worsen during the winter months, leading to calls for increased public health interventions.
• Some states in Australia have commenced RSV infant immunisation programs, but there is no nationwide program, leading to disparities in vaccine access.
• Experts are urging state-funded RSV immunisation programs to prevent hospitalisations and provide uniform protection, especially for vulnerable groups like infants and the elderly.

Have you or someone you know been affected by this virus? What do you advise others to protect themselves from contracting it? Let us know your stories and suggestions in the comments below.

 

[Rickcb63]

Did you ever get vaccinated against polio and smallpox? If not, you are very lucky that the rest of the world did.

So if you’re vaxed with a non tested trial drug, then I don’t have to !
I see how it works, and will long after those who get sick from it!

 

[Rickcb63]

I had forgotten about diptheria; the power of immunisation campaigns!

What about Phylidamyde (spelt incorrect) given out for morning sickness ?? How did that trial drug work out ??
Short memories will kill you !

 

[Rickcb63]

This is another way to scare parents to give añ other poisoning shot to their kids.

Melahrini, very true !

 

[Rickcb63]

People can wonder why the disease is spreading when they put their infants into grocery trolleys ?? Why are the parents allowed to do that ?

Disease is spreading by the vaxed !

 

[Rob44]

Natural immunity disappeared from earth, the same time sheeple started becoming test dummies for a trial drug being given out under the guise of being a safe and effective “vaccine “ which it cannot be called a vaccine, as it hasn’t met any guidelines that a vaccine would go through.
Now all those who partook in the experiment, and still are , are carrying around and spreading Covid.
Don’t believe me,,,,, well remember how to fly over seas or get on a cruise liner you needed to be vaccinated and boosted ? Remember how everyone onboard ended up sick ?? Yeah is it making sense now ?? If you still say No, then go get another shot, no help for you !

Ah, those children who were crippled or confined to life in an iron lung by poliomyelitis in the days when we had natural immunity and ate garlic and had no vaccine for the polio virus............

 

[Rob44]

Disease is spreading by the vaxed !

Polio could still be spread by kids kids innoculated (vaxxed) against polio but who had not received the oral polio vaccine; World Health Organisation web-site. Oh, sorry; I forget, the WHO is part of the UN's dreaded conspiracy to implant us with microchips.

Vaxxed is better, otherwise the "a" becomes a long 'a'.

 

[Rob44]

Remember how everyone who partook in the experiment, was coerced into saying to those who didn’t, ,,don’t you care about anyone but yourself ??

Isn’t this now a case of the same ? Very glad that everyone but me took part in the experiment!
PS; Remember phlydimide (not spelt correctly) in the 50-60’s to stop morning sickness ? How did that work out, ? Short memory out there !

Thalidomide.

 

[Rob44]

I had my RSV injection last Friday at the cost of $332.62.

I wonder who owns the patent on that one? Richard Salk refused to take out a patent on the "Salk" polio vaccine but made its use freely available.

 

[Liz]

I'm 75 years old and have had RSV twice. The first time was the sickest I have ever been in my life! I sat for 3 days (easier than lying down) using my CPAP machine non-stop just so I could breathe. If it hadn't been for that, I know I would have ended up in hospital. It took months for the cough to leave me. I am never sick! I catch nothing but have now had RSV twice. The 2nd time wasn't as bad thankfully. I think it's more prevalent than we think as it is so similar to a bad flu. But if you get it badly, it is deadly....literally.

I agree, I went to hospital with RSV and they were going to put me in an induced coma and intubate me. I escaped that with good medical staff and some other thinking. I never want to go there again.

 

[Marj53]

HI. Yes I believe that's the virus I have. Starts off with a very sore throat and a lot of nasal congestion and then moves to the airways and chest. Terrible cough and fluid in the lungs I'm finding hard to shake. 1 dose of antibiotics and am about to start another. A very bad virus.

This sounds like what my friend had. He is 78 and has had 2 lots of antibiotics. He still has trouble sleeping in his bed, because he has trouble breathing. So he has been sleeping on his lounge

 

[Trina G]

So sad people still think immunization is a bad thing. It has saved millions of lives Polio Diphtheria Tenus and many more

I suppose we could all become anti-vaxxers and as a result we might wipe out half or more of the world’s population.

 

[Zemo]

This is another way to scare parents to give añ other poisoning shot to their kids.

Well, you can take your chances -- don't get the shots. But don't come whingeing to me or seek free or subsidised medical care if you happen to get infected. Vicks rub is good for all these illnesses ...

 

[PepeLePew]

People can wonder why the disease is spreading when they put their infants into grocery trolleys ?? Why are the parents allowed to do that ?

All the shopping centres in my area still have disinfectant wipes to wipe down trolleys before use. Otherwise you can buy shopping trolley inserts for the child's seat that covers everything the child might touch. These are reusable, just chuck them through the wash after each use. Started using one of these 40 odd yrs ago.

 

[PepeLePew]

I still wear a mask and never leave home without one. Very paranoid about catching anything as I too have an auto immune deficiency.

 

[Macarj]

My daughter always wipes the trolley with detol wipes before putting her daughter in it. Most of the time she shops at night when hubby is home to watch the girls

I even wipe down the handles for me before I start shopping

 

[Rob44]

I suppose we could all become anti-vaxxers and as a result we might wipe out half or more of the world’s population.

I had forgotten about diptheria; the power of immunisation campaigns!

Come to think of it many years ago I spent some time travelling in the back of a 3-ton ex-army truck with 13 others, including a bloke who caught diptheria. Having had the vaccination as a child, which had formed part of the NHS's mass vaccination for kids programme, neither I, nor the rest of us caught it. That included his girl-friend who was nursing him.

 

[JimmyFlatrock]

After reading the more valued and useful comments here, I am starting to believe my partner caught this last year. Whilst we were careful and isolated as much as possible, I caught it as well. Neither of us had this diagnosed, so don't know for sure. But this valuable thread has made us both sit-up and take note, as in broad terms I felt, like others, that I had never experienced such depths of illness in my life, high Vit D3 levels or not.

The prolonged cough, fever, mucus build-up, general malaise, body aches and sleep deprivation the worst ever experienced. My partner had all of that plus a very sore throat and then developed pneumonia, preferring to be treated at home, rather than go into hospital.

Thank you to those offering, as I see it, valued content.

Tomorrow, we will be making an appointment for the really expensive vaccination as I believe it can be caught again.

Does anyone have information about the duration of protection from the vaccination? I will get that information from the Doctor, however, I do place value on receiving anecdotal information from others in the know.

 

[Rob44]

Come to think of it many years ago I spent some time travelling in the back of a 3-ton ex-army truck with 13 others, including a bloke who caught diptheria. Having had the vaccination as a child, which had formed part of the NHS's mass vaccination for kids programme, neither I, nor the rest of us caught it. That included his girl-friend who was nursing him.

PS. If anyone wants a read about the diptheria epidemic in Naples, try "The Story of San Michele" by a Dr Axel Munthe who worked through that epidemic back in the1920s, or was it that in 1871? It's also his autobiography and is altogether an interesting read about Italy at the turn and longer of the 20th century.

And if you want another interesting read about the dangers of vaccination, here is an abstract of a paper published in Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 62(5) , pages 919-925 , 1985, by D Greco,
Director, Infectious Diseases Department, Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Principal Investigator of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health and Disease Surveillance, Instituto Superiore di Sanita, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Roma-Nomentano, Rome, Italy.

"Between 1980 and 1982 in the Campania region of Italy, several cases of encephalopathy in children who had only a week previously been given diphtheria-tetanus immunizations were reported to the Italian Ministry of Health in Rome. A case-control study was therefore set up to test the association between the syndrome and immunization. For this purpose, cases were defined as children between 3 and 48 months who had been admitted to an intensive care unit with symptoms such as convulsions of unknown origin, Reye's syndrome, or death from unknown causes. The fatality rate from encephalopathy among the immunized children in the study was 25 out of 29 (86%o). In Campania (population 5.4million), the annual incidence of encephalopathy associated with diphtheria-tetanus immunization was estimated to be 2.9 per 100 000 doses of the vaccine."

An 86% mortality rate from the diptheria vaccination, pre-mRNA technology. Don't get vaccinated against diptheria! It will kill you! The Director of whatever wherever has proved it! (irony alert, if such is needed).

Now read the full paper; yes, certain vaccines may cause serious problems; so may driving to work or catching diptheria/tetanus/poliomyelitis etc.

 

[Rob44]

Come to think of it many years ago I spent some time travelling in the back of a 3-ton ex-army truck with 13 others, including a bloke who caught diptheria. Having had the vaccination as a child, which had formed part of the NHS's mass vaccination for kids programme, neither I, nor the rest of us caught it. That included his girl-friend who was nursing him.

PS. If anyone wants a read about the diptheria epidemic in Naples, try "The Story of San Michele" by a Dr Axel Munthe who worked through that epidemic back in the1920s, or was it that in 1871? It's also his autobiography and is altogether an interesting read about Italy at the turn and longer of the 20th century.

And if you want another interesting read about the dangers of vaccination, here is an abstract of a paper published in Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 62(5) , pages 919-925 , 1985, by D Greco,
Director, Infectious Diseases Department, Laboratory of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Principal Investigator of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Health and Disease Surveillance, Instituto Superiore di Sanita, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Roma-Nomentano, Rome, Italy.

"Between 1980 and 1982 in the Campania region of Italy, several cases of encephalopathy in children who had only a week previously been given diphtheria-tetanus immunizations were reported to the Italian Ministry of Health in Rome. A case-control study was therefore set up to test the association between the syndrome and immunization. For this purpose, cases were defined as children between 3 and 48 months who had been admitted to an intensive care unit with symptoms such as convulsions of unknown origin, Reye's syndrome, or death from unknown causes. The fatality rate from encephalopathy among the immunized children in the study was 25 out of 29 (86%o). In Campania (population 5.4million), the annual incidence of encephalopathy associated with diphtheria-tetanus immunization was estimated to be 2.9 per 100 000 doses of the vaccine."

An 86% mortality rate from the diptheria vaccination, pre-mRNA technology. Don't get vaccinated against diptheria! It will kill you! The Director of whatever wherever has proved it! (irony alert, if such is needed).

Now read the full paper; yes, certain vaccines may cause serious problems; so may driving to work or catching diptheria/tetanus/poliomyelitis etc.

After reading the more valued and useful comments here, I am starting to believe my partner caught this last year. Whilst we were careful and isolated as much as possible, I caught it as well. Neither of us had this diagnosed, so don't know for sure. But this valuable thread has made us both sit-up and take note, as in broad terms I felt, like others, that I had never experienced such depths of illness in my life, high Vit D3 levels or not.

The prolonged cough, fever, mucus build-up, general malaise, body aches and sleep deprivation the worst ever experienced. My partner had all of that plus a very sore throat and then developed pneumonia, preferring to be treated at home, rather than go into hospital.

Thank you to those offering, as I see it, valued content.

Tomorrow, we will be making an appointment for the really expensive vaccination as I believe it can be caught again.

Does anyone have information about the duration of protection from the vaccination? I will get that information from the Doctor, however, I do place value on receiving anecdotal information from others in the know.

RSV vaccine. I have just learnt this from my pharmacist as my GP Clinic, linked to a University Teaching Hospital, advises that it is not doing the RSV vaccine; it works like this:
1) Get a script for it from your GP.
2) Give the script to the pharmacist.
3) The pharmacist gets the vaccine.
4) Take the vaccine to your GP and get injected.

Receive 2 doctor's bills, $180 minimum unless your GP is very altruistic and bulk-bills, and a $330 bill from the pharmacist, so all-up $510. Maybe if I get RSV I'll go to the ED and cough over everyone, staff included, for the 6-8 hours wait until someone puts me down. Or is that blackmail?

 

[JimmyFlatrock]

From the little I've seen of your writings, it suggests you probably wouldn't go to the ED and do that.
Others have mentioned a $332 dollar bill for the RSV, but no mention of a doctors bill. I haven't yet had to pay any bills at my current GP, so it seems the location lottery might be coming into play here.