Identifying the health impacts of overseas travel for children

Australian children frequently travel overseas, but little is known about their travel-related illnesses. Research measured Emergency Department attendees and referrals to the infectious diseases service at The Children's Hospital at Westmead in the 18 months immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research showed that returned child travellers in Western Sydney frequently presented with respiratory infections and may be a key population for surveillance of imported respiratory viruses. Returned child travellers were mostly aged younger than 5 and had travelled within the Asia-Pacific region, with the main reason for travel to visit friends and relatives (VFR).

The research concluded that travel-related illness in Western Sydney could be reduced with health education and targeted pre-travel vaccination for VFR travellers to South Asia.

The research was co-authored by Associate Professor Philip Britton, head of the Centre for Paediatric and Perinatal Infection Research team at Kids Research and published in the Public Health Research & Practice journal.

New and free national RSV vaccine program for all pregnant women

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a serious disease for babies and a leading cause of hospitalisation of children in Australia. Clinical trials have shown getting an RSV vaccine during pregnancy reduces the risk of severe RSV disease in infants aged less than 6 months by 60%.

This research has led to the development and launch of a national vaccination program for the prevention of RSV in Australia. From February 2025, all pregnant women in Australia will be able to receive the RSV vaccine for free under the National Immunisation Program to protect their newborn from RSV.

This work was contributed greatly by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) based at Kids Research.