Explainer: What is RSV and why is it making so many people sick this winter?
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is currently causing more hospitalizations in New Zealand than Covid-19 or influenza, prompting health experts to call for a national childhood vaccination program. The virus, which is particularly dangerous for children and the elderly, is currently peaking during the winter months.
Why it matters
The high burden of RSV on healthcare systems highlights the need for updated public health strategies and vaccine accessibility to manage seasonal respiratory outbreaks.
Explainer: RSV may not quite have the name recognition that influenza and Covid do, but it's actually causing more winter illness.
New Zealand has some of the world's highest rates of serious illness caused by the virus, and health experts are calling for a national childhood vaccination programme to be instituted.
The Public Health Communication Centre issued a briefing this week asking for the government to approve RSV vaccines being used in Australia and other countries, which it says will also relieve the enormous burden put on doctors and hospitals each winter.
"It's an awful experience for families to see their children struggling to breathe," Emma Best, an associate professor of paediatric and youth health at Auckland University, told RNZ's Morning Report .
Dr Hasan Bhally is an infectious diseases specialist
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