GPs report high rates of cases in summer ahead of vaccine rollout

ABC NEWS (Australia)

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.

Transcript

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.

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