RSV immunisation program for babies slashes hospital stays
An Australian-first study demonstrating the effectiveness of immunisation against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for babies found it to be almost 90% effective in reducing hospitalisation rates, helping more than 500 families avoid a hospital stay. Their work has been published in the Journal of Infection.
Affecting the airways and lungs, RSV is a life-threatening virus responsible for sending 3.6 million children to hospitals worldwide each year. It is especially dangerous for vulnerable young babies at high risk of potentially deadly complications such as severe bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
Last year, Western Australia introduced a free RSV immunisation program providing babies with a long-acting monoclonal antibody called nirsevimab. As noted by study author Dr Ushma Wadia, from the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, “More than 24,000 doses of nirsevimab were distributed throughout April–September last year, providing coverage to 85% of newborns and 66% of a ‘catch-up’ cohort of babies in the lead-up to their first winter season.”
Wadia and her fellow researchers set out to investigate RSV-related hospital admissions following the introduction of WA’s immunisation program. She explained, “Our team worked alongside WA Health to evaluate hospitalisation rates at Perth Children’s Hospital, Fiona Stanley Hospital and Joondalup Health Campus, and allowed us to become the first place in the Southern Hemisphere to successfully demonstrate the major impact of RSV immunisation in young babies.”
In addition to a reduction in hospital admission rates, the study also investigated the effect immunisation had on the severity of RSV cases. It found that nirsevimab recipients were 60% less likely to require oxygen or assistance with their breathing if admitted with RSV.
For Professor Chris Blyth, a Perth Children’s Hospital physician and Head of the Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases, the global significance of this work is hugely significant.
“The data gained from the REVIVE Study aligns with outcomes from research conducted in the Northern Hemisphere and can now be used as evidence to inform vaccine policy throughout the world, including in lower-income countries where morbidity rates for RSV are at their highest,” Blyth said.
The success of WA’s nirsevimab program has also contributed to the rollout of a national, $174.5 million RSV immunisation program now underway for all pregnant women and newborn babies, which seeks to keep 10,000 Australian babies out of hospital each year.
Image caption: RSV is the number one cause of hospitalisation in Australian infants.