Queensland Data Highlight High RSV Burden Through 15 Months of Age

An analysis summarized in Queensland pediatric RSV notifications (2022–2023) describes pediatric RSV notifications in Queensland across 2022–2023, with the heaviest burden reported in early life and described as remaining elevated into the second year of infancy. Investigators are reported to have observed especially high notification rates through about 15 months of age, which they discuss in relation to how infant protection timelines are typically framed. The account centers on the reported age distribution of notifications and how the authors contextualize that distribution in terms of timing and duration.

The summary reports that the analysis covered 18,683 RSV cases among children younger than 2 years, using data from the Queensland Notifiable Conditions Systems. Within that under-2 population, it reports 10,613 notifications among infants aged 0–12 months. These counts are presented as showing that notifications clustered in the first year of life within the broader under-2 cohort.

The write-up also describes notification rates as particularly high through 15 months and ties that observation to expectations about how long protection lasts after immunization during pregnancy or at birth. The same account states that, in Queensland, access described as free includes pregnant women in their third trimester or infants from birth up to 8 months of age, and that the service is provided year-round. In that framing, the authors present a timing-and-duration question aligned to the observed age pattern through 15 months.

The investigators also describe community and geographic associations alongside age distribution, using notification patterns to characterize where burden appeared higher. The summary reports higher RSV burden in children from larger families and in arid or semi-arid climate zones (a pattern the researchers note could be an anomaly with an unclear explanation). It also notes a lower incidence in remote areas that the authors suggest may relate to under-testing. In that framing, differences by household context, climate, and remoteness are presented as factors that can shape how notification-based patterns are observed and interpreted across age bands.

Key Takeaways:

• The summary reports an under-2 notification total and a first-year-of-life subset, with 10,613 notifications in ages 0–12 months described as concentrated early in life.
• Notifications were described as remaining particularly high through 15 months, alongside author discussion of an expected ~six-month protection window and Queensland access described for third-trimester pregnancy or infants up to 8 months, offered year-round.
• Higher burden was reported in larger families and in hotter, drier climate areas, while lower incidence in remote areas was noted as potentially reflecting under-testing.