GPs are seeing high rates of the respiratory virus RSV this summer, after Australia experienced a record number of cases last year. A free RSV vaccine will be made available to pregnant women next month and doctors are urging people to go to their GP if they have any symptoms.
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00:00RSV is known as respiratory syncytial virus, so it's a viral infection that we see very
00:08commonly, specifically during the winter months, and it's spread via droplets, so coughing,
00:13sneezing. It's a very common infection and it tends to affect children. It can affect
00:18adults as well, but specifically adults who may have chronic conditions or who may be
00:24on medications which make them more immunocompromised, and of course the elderly population.
00:29We're seeing more and more cases as every year goes by. The number of cases seem to
00:34be rising. We've seen about 4,000 cases so far this year, and coming into winter there's
00:40probably going to be more coming in. So with the RSV vaccination, we are encouraging and
00:46we are welcoming the input from the government for having the RSV vaccine during pregnancy,
00:53which ultimately means that we will see less severity of the condition and therefore less
00:57hospitalisation of infants and babies who tend to get affected by this and it tends
01:03to go into their chest to cause a lower respiratory tract infection.
01:06So it's been around for decades, hasn't it? So why did it only become a notifiable disease
01:13in Australia four years ago? It just feels like in the past several years we've been
01:18hearing so much more about it.
01:20Sure. As I had mentioned, we're seeing more and more of those cases, and particularly
01:25after COVID, a lot of people were taking lots of precautions, but the reality of this
01:31is respiratory viruses will spread very quickly, and it also causes quite severe congestion,
01:39severe amounts of respiratory symptoms in very young babies. So because of that, making
01:44it notifiable also means that we have an idea about the number of cases that are there,
01:50how much is on the rise, and therefore public health initiatives can also be rolled out,
01:56such as the vaccinations. That's probably what has ultimately led us to this point of
02:01being able to have the monoclonal antibody immunisation available for the RSV virus.
02:08We just put up a graph before showing that the vast majority of cases pop up in really
02:17young kids?
02:19That's right. We primarily see a lot of these cases in very young children, so that's one
02:25of the key reasons why giving the immunisation during the pregnancy, and also if you remember
02:31from last year, many of the states had introduced the introduction of the RSV immunisation just
02:36after birth, which was well received, and as a GP practising on the ground, we were
02:40able to actually see the difference amongst our patients. The severity of the illness
02:45is much reduced with the vaccination.
02:48What impact do you think the government initiatives like free monoclonal antibodies for eligible
02:52infants and kids and the free vaccine for pregnant women will have?
02:57I think it will have a tremendous impact on reducing the severity of the condition, and
03:03the impact of this particular virus on little babies, small infants and neonates, reducing
03:09hospitalisations, and it means that even if they do get the virus in itself, the impact
03:14of it on that child is going to be a lot less in terms of the symptoms, and it means
03:19that they are going to have less chances of being admitted to hospital needing hydration
03:23and fluids and maybe oxygen whilst they are there. So it is definitely going to reduce
03:29the burden within the health system as well as for our patients.
03:34Should free vaccines be extended to more people in Australia?
03:38Certainly. As I had mentioned earlier on, RSV as a virus tends to affect both children
03:44as well as adults, specifically adults who have chronic medical conditions, adults who
03:51are older, so they may be more vulnerable to this. So certainly in patients over the
03:55age of 75, we do recommend getting the RSV vaccination, although currently it is not
04:00under the National Immunisation Program and not funded, but that would be fantastic if
04:06it is included in the near future.
04:08And what have you noticed with people's attitudes towards vaccine in the wake of COVID?
04:14Yes, certainly. Look, this is a conversation that I have with my patients very often, and
04:20some of them have expressed a sense of exhaustion in hearing about it. That's the truth of it.
04:25But the reality is talking to your GP, you know, part of that sort of trusting relationship
04:31they have means that we can actually talk them through the reasons why vaccinations
04:35and immunisations are actually important, why they are effective, and how it actually
04:40helps them and their families to stay healthy and well and out of hospital.