Potentially deadly respiratory syncytial virus cases on the rise in South Australia

Case numbers are sharply up across the state for a nasty respiratory virus that can force some children into hospital and is potentially deadly.

The potentially deadly respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is on the rise in South Australia, with 4139 cases recorded so far this year compared to 538 at the same time last year.

RSV became a notifiable disease in October 2021 and last year – the first full year of notifications of confirmed cases – there were 9550 cases.

RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants and is the main cause of children under aged five being sent to hospital with respiratory illnesses.

Nationally, around 12,000 children a year need hospital treatment for RSV, which in mild cases may appear to be a common cold.

Women's and Children's Hospital. Picture: Matt Loxton

The virus has killed more than 21 preschoolers in Australia in the past decade and costs the health system an estimated $159m annually.

Immunisation Coalition chairman, Adelaide-based GP Rod Pearce, previously has observed childcare centres are key sites where infections are passed on between children, noting: “Childcare is a place where all of these things are brewed.”

The Therapeutic Goods Administration is assessing a new preventive treatment for the condition, developed by pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and AstraZeneca.

The drug nirsevimab can be given to babies at birth and, in a trial of 8000 children with RSV in Europe, it cut hospital admission rates by 83 per cent.

The European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada have all approved the treatment.

SA Health says RSV can be a serious illness causing severe health complications, especially for children aged six months and under.

Signs and symptoms include fever, a runny nose, coughing and wheezing. Ear infections are common. Pneumonia and bron­chiolitis can often follow, especially in infants.

“All South Australians need to be vigilant with their health and hygiene to avoid respiratory viruses like RSV,” SA Health notes.

In most cases, RSV is mild, with symptoms similar to a cold. However some children develop severe RSV and require medical attention for lung infections such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

Signs of severe RSV in young children include difficulty breathing, not eating or drinking, exhaustion, fever and short, shallow and rapid breathing, where the child’s chest caves in between and under the ribs or the lower neck.

Other signs can include up and down head movements or grunting with each breath, and flared nostrils and wheezing.

Influenza cases also are up in SA, with 8044 cases recorded so far this year compared to 7205 at the same time the previous year, which went on to have a total of 12,083 cases,

In 2021, there had been just 16 cases at this time of year and a total of 40 cases for the entire year, as Covid hygiene protocols and lack of international flights had an impact on infections.