Australia’s active hospital-based surveillance for severe childhood disease
New research conducted by The Kids Research Institute Australia, the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) and Monash University shows that Australia’s new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation program was associated with an almost 50% reduction in hospital admissions for Australia’s youngest babies in its first year.
Using data collected by the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance network and the Influenza Complications Alert Network (PAEDS-FluCAN) from more than 3,700 children hospitalised with acute respiratory infection (ARI) in 2025, researchers compared RSV-positive cases (2,719) with RSV-negative controls (1,024).
The study found that RSV-associated ARI hospitalisations fell by 43.8% in babies aged less than 3 months – the group at highest risk of severe outcomes from RSV disease – following the rollout of the RSV Maternal and Infant Protection Program (RSV-MIPP) in 2025.
RSV-MIPP offers free Abrysvo vaccination during pregnancy under the National Immunisation Program, with states and territories funding the injectable long-acting monoclonal antibody (nirsevimab) for eligible infants. This hybrid approach aims to protect babies either before birth or soon after, when they are most vulnerable.
The program was 82% effective overall in preventing RSV-associated ARI hospitalisation in eligible newborns. These findings represent the first real-world evidence from the southern hemisphere to demonstrate the effectiveness of a hybrid RSV prevention strategy at a national scale.
Reassuringly, both components of the hybrid program demonstrated strong protection, with maternal RSV vaccination and infant nirsevimab immunisation reducing the risk of RSV-associated ARI hospitalisation by 80.5% and 89.5%, respectively.
Surveillance through PAEDS-FluCAN is ongoing and will inform future research to better understand how long protection from immunisation lasts and how the program performs over multiple RSV seasons.
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Declaration: This study has been published as a pre-print and has not undergone academic peer review; amendments may be made before final publication.
