Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease Burden and Evidence Gaps in Australia Before Immunisation Introduction: A Retrospective Population-Based Study Using 2016–2019 Hospitalisation and 2023 Laboratory Surveillance Data

This study evaluated Australia's national respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) burden and highlighted key data gaps. Hospitalisations (2016–2019) peaked in infants aged < 3 months (4014/100,000) and adults aged ≥ 65 years (122/100,000), nearly doubling over the period. Unspecified causes comprised ≈55% of bronchiolitis hospitalisations in children aged < 24 months. Laboratory notifications (2023) peaked at 6–11 months (7778/100,000). Real-time data integration addressing case-ascertainment and diagnostic testing frequency is essential for accurate burden estimates and future immunisation strategies.