This article has been independently produced by AusDoc, made possible through sponsorship from GSK.

High-income countries, like Australia, are at risk of a respiratory syncytial virus epidemic unless vaccine uptake is increased, a leading infectious diseases expert warns.

Professor Paul Griffin, a director of the Immunisation Coalition and a board member of its scientific advisory, says respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disproportionately impacts older adults compared with children — primarily because of their reduced RSV-specific T-cell responses from immunosenescence.

“We are going to see RSV peaks in older Australians every year, and there is a distinct possibility it will get worse,” says the microbiologist and director of infectious diseases at the Mater Hospital Brisbane.