Time to Act: protecting our children from RSV

May 2023

Time to Act: protecting our children from RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of hospitalisation for Australian infants and children under 5 years, yet it does not receive the same attention as other common respiratory viruses such as influenza and COVID-19.

Nearly 12,000 Australian babies are likely to be hospitalised this year, at a cost of nearly $200 million. Yet many parents have not heard of RSV.

It is time to act, put a spotlight on RSV and begin a national conversation.

There is no clinically effective curative treatment for RSV infection.

The average annual costs for Australian children
< 5 years admitted to hospital with RSV:

$193m

Societal costs (i.e. costs of hospitalisation, productivity loss and out of pocket costs) is estimated to be $193 million.

$159m

Direct health care costs (i.e. costs of emergency department visits, ambulance, ward care, intensive care) is estimated to be $159 million.

$34m

Indirect costs (i.e. productivity loss and out of pocket costs) is estimated to be $34 million.

Almost all children will have had RSV by their third birthday but there is no way to predict which of those otherwise healthy infants and children will have mild symptoms and which will end up in hospital.

Whilst we can reliably estimate how many infants and children are hospitalised but those seeking care in the community remains a mystery. This is largely a result of the lack of clinical drivers for health care professionals to test for RSV and the data systems to enumerate the burden.

Consequently, quantifying the full extent of this burden in Australia is impossible as RSV is significantly underreported, and true incidence data cannot be accurately obtained.

There is hope on the horizon for RSV prevention and management.

There is hope on the horizon for RSV prevention and management, with several infant and child vaccines, maternal vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies currently in clinical trial. These have potential to drastically decrease RSV associated hospitalisation and the overall burden of RSV in our community. They also signify a real opportunity to protect our infants and children from this potentially life-threatening disease. The first step towards this future must include understanding the true incidence of RSV in Australia.

We have a proven track record of successful public health management of influenza and COVID-19. We already have the infrastructure in place to better understand and manage RSV. The time to act is now to increase surveillance and improve data collection so that we can build a true picture of the burden of RSV.