RSV outbreak: Nearly 900 children admitted to Wellington hospitals in June and July

Hundreds of babies were admitted to hospital with respiratory illness over Winter in Wellington. Photo / 123rf

Nearly 900 children were admitted to hospitals in the Wellington region with respiratory illness during June and July, more than a third of which were less than a year old.

Data provided by Capital and Coast District health board under the Official Information Act revealed 590 children aged 15 and under were admitted to Wellington Regional Hospital with respiratory illness in June and July.

More than 250 of this number were babies under the age of 1, and 40 children were then admitted to ICU throughout this period.

At Hutt Valley Hospital, 293 children were admitted to hospital with respiratory illness, 112 of which were under the age of 1. Eight children ended up in the ICU.

The figures showed respiratory illness was not only a problem for children, with 96 people over the age of 16 admitted to Wellington's ICU, and 47 to the ICU in Hutt Valley hospital.

A CCDHB spokesperson has confirmed no children died in the region's hospitals during the RSV outbreak.

In the void of Covid-19 in New Zealand during June and July, the country was hit with an outbreak of respiratory illness - most notably RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) - which put hundreds of babies in hospitals around the country.

Childcare centres were on high alert, and Wellington and Hutt Valley hospitals were forced to heavily restrict visitors to curb the volumes of people through their emergency departments.

A CCDHB spokesperson said while respiratory and RSV outbreaks occur annually, they did not experience an outbreak in 2020.

"The number of cases we experienced this year was significantly higher than those seen in 2020, and also higher than we would normally expect compared to previous years," they said.

The outbreak put pressure on the emergency department of Wellington Regional Hospital. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The severity of this year's outbreak has been partly attributed by experts to last year's lockdown, which may have prevented young babies from boosting their immunity against infectious diseases.

At the end of July, the Herald reported the RSV outbreak across the country was more than twice the seasonal rate of the past six years.

The outbreak appears to have peaked in July, with 336 children admitted in Wellington Regional Hospital and 191 to Hutt Valley throughout the month.

This compared to 254 and 102 admitted in the month of June at Wellington and Hutt Valley hospitals respectively.

Malaghan Institute of Medical Research Director Professor Graham Le Gros. Photo / Supplied

Last month leading New Zealand immunologist Professor Graham Le Gros, director of Wellington's Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, told the Herald alert level 4 lockdown may have helped stamp out the RSV virus.

However CCDHB, as well as other health boards around the country reported RSV numbers had already started to decline before lockdown was announced on August 17.

On the day New Zealand went into lockdown there were six children in Wellington Hospital with RSV, and there are currently two.