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Western Australia has experienced historically low levels of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza this winter due to the public health measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In a community-based birth cohort of 158 Australian infants followed to age 2 years, the incidence rate of human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) was 0.42 (95% CI = 0.33, 0.54) episodes per child-year with episodes occurring year-round, peaking in the spring season.
Many countries recommend influenza vaccination during pregnancy. Despite this recommendation, influenza vaccine among pregnant individuals remains under-utilized and uptake varies by country. Factors associated with influenza vaccine uptake during pregnancy may also vary across countries.
In 2010, the Australian seasonal influenza vaccination program for children under 5 years of age was suspended due to an unexpected increase in fever and febrile convulsions causally associated with one particular influenza vaccine brand. A subsequent national review made seven recommendations to improve vaccine pharmacovigilance.
Our aim is to ascertain predictors of inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) uptake in pregnancy in mother-infant pairs from six Australian sites over four consecutive influenza seasons (2012-2015).
This report summarises the epidemiology of hospitalisations with laboratory-confirmed influenza during the 2019 influenza season. The Influenza Complications Alert Network (FluCAN) is a sentinel hospital-based surveillance program that operates at sites in all jurisdictions in Australia.
Healthcare personnel (HCP) are a priority group for annual influenza vaccination. Few studies have assessed the validity of recall of prior influenza vaccination status among HCP, especially for more than one preceding season.
The FluBub Study will investigate whether giving the flu vaccine much earlier than the six months currently recommended by the National Immunisation Program will protect babies at the greatest risk of a severe influenza infection when they are most vulnerable.
Influenza vaccination is recommended to protect mothers and their infants from influenza infection. Few studies have evaluated the health impacts of in utero exposure to influenza vaccine among children more than six months of age.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a significant cause of respiratory infections in young children. Since 2021, RSV has been a notifiable disease in Australia. However, current surveillance systems focus on hospitalised RSV, with limited surveillance at a community level through primary care clinics. This approach only captures RSV requiring hospitalisation. Less severe illnesses, while not captured, may have significant social and economic impacts including the associated cost of care and absenteeism. The aim of this study is to establish an understanding of the broader burden of RSV in young children in a community setting.