Feverish and lethargic, Emily Smith’s two-year-old daughter could barely open her eyes on the plane ride home from a family holiday in January.
In fear, she took Billie to hospital right after their plane landed in Sydney, at the beginning of what has become a horror flu season.
“It wasn’t until we got her to the hospital and they told me it was the flu,” Smith said. “It definitely opened my eyes to how sick it can make them.”
Since her daughter’s illness, reported influenza cases have surged among children, particularly among those aged between five and nine, according to the latest national surveillance data.
About 69% of people admitted to hospital with confirmed influenza since April are children aged below 16. Yet just 22% of children aged between six months to five years – and 13% of children aged five to 16 – are vaccinated against influenza nationally. This compares with 61% of those aged 65 and above.
More than 137,000 infections have been recorded across the country this year, as of 3 July, with the highest numbers being reported in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
Dr Sarah McNab, the director of general medicine at the Royal Children’s hospital in Melbourne, said the rise was likely due to flu patterns returning to normal after the Covid-19 pandemic and the ease with which the contagious virus spreads in childcare centres and schools.
“We now have all of the respiratory illnesses circulating in the community again,” she said.
In the past month, she said the hospital had seen a rise in the numbers of children presenting with the flu. The most common symptoms include lethargy, aches and pains, fever and a runny nose.
But the severity of flu cases for children has also spiked, with some admitted to intensive care with serious heart, brain and muscle-related complications.
Prof Nicholas Wood, a University of Sydney paediatrics expert, said it was not yet clear why the severity of cases had gotten worse.
The severity of infections among children prompted the NSW chief health officer, Kerry Chant, to urge parents to get their children vaccinated.
“Sadly, our children’s hospitals are seeing an increasing number of these children being admitted for care and some of these patients are seriously unwell,” she said on Thursday.
The vaccine is recommended annually for anyone older than six months. High-risk groups can also access the vaccination for free, including children aged under five, pregnant women, people aged 65 and above, Aboriginal people, and those with serious health conditions.
Smith said she had not yet thought to get Billie vaccinated because she did not realise how the flu could affect children.
“We’ll be getting the vaccine every year now,” she said.
Billie’s symptoms lasted about 10 days, with the girl appearing to get better one day before her symptoms got worse the next. She spent 12 hours in the Sydney Children’s hospital right after they returned from Fiji, while staff ran tests.
“It was a really weird rollercoaster of a sickness,” she said.
Prof Julie Leask, a University of Sydney immunisation expert, said there were many reasons why the vaccination rate remains low despite the risk to children.
“It can be parents not being aware of the recommendations, not wanting that extra needle, or not seeing the flu as serious as it can be,” she said. “It can also be health professionals not flagging the need, or being in the habit of recommending it, or seeing other forms of treatment or prevention as a priority.”
She said it was important for parents to realise that it was not too late to get the flu vaccine for their children.
“The flu season is still not over and in our research we’ve talked to parents who were just about to get the vaccine, then didn’t, and then their child got the flu and went to hospital,” she said.
