Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to bring to the Senate’s attention issues relating to the vaccine for rotavirus gastroenteritis. Rotavirus is a preventable illness and one of many preventable illnesses that people are ending up in hospital with because of the Howard government’s failure to act. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the facts of the virus, nearly every Australian child will contract the virus at some point before they turn five years old. One out of every 25 children will be hospitalised because of it. A child with a rotavirus infection has a sudden onset of fever, vomiting and watery diarrhoea. This is often accompanied by severe abdominal cramping, a cough and a runny nose. The severity of the diarrhoea will often lead to acute dehydration. For young children, this situation can be quite serious. To put it into perspective, diarrhoea kills more children around the world than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

Many Australian mums and dads have already seen their young children in horrible amounts of pain as result of the virus and, unfortunately, those who have not are very likely to—and soon. The experience not only hurts the child but it also affects families as well. Many suffer distress because they have not seen their baby or toddler unwell before. The experience has been described by parents as heartbreaking and frightening. What makes matters worse is the fact that the virus is extremely contagious, with 25 per cent of cases referred to the Canberra Hospital resulting in more than one member of a family being treated for the virus.

The impact of the virus not only affects hospitals, hospitals beds and emergency departments but also the workplace and child care. As you can imagine, in a childcare environment, where young children come into contact with others on a regular basis, the effects of the virus can be catastrophic, as it has the potential to spread through the centre in a short period of time. As a result, most centres require parents to provide a medical certificate to prove that their child is no longer affected by the virus and safe to return to the centre. As a result, parents take time off work to keep their sick children at home. The impact of this virus is not isolated to the sufferer; the entire family is affected.

To highlight the reach of this virus, nearly all of you here that have children or grandchildren will have experienced the unpleasant effects of rotavirus in your families. The virus generally lasts for between three and eight days, and multiple infections during the early years of a child’s life are not uncommon. Like forms of influenza, rotavirus is at its busiest in the winter months. Huge numbers of children with the virus flood hospitals, placing massive strain on the system. In fact, this virus is one of the leading causes of infant hospitalisation in the nation. Every year, rotavirus puts 10,000 Australian kids in hospital and 20,000 Australian kids into an emergency department; 100,000 Australian kids are taken to a GP with the virus. This places a huge strain on our healthcare services, especially when you consider that there is a vaccine available.

One of the vaccines available protects infants against rotavirus gastroenteritis while reducing hospitalisations for other forms of gastroenteritis. It is a ready-to-use, oral and easily administered vaccine. There are no invasive needles and no pills—simply a couple of drops that are capable of saving a child and their family considerable physical and emotional distress. However, it is important to stress that the vaccine must be administered at two, four and six months of age in three separate doses. I understand that it can be administered with existing paediatric vaccines on the National Immunisation Program. Failure to administer the vaccine during this short time frame will render it redundant and the child susceptible to this horrible virus.

Not funding this vaccine soon, when we are closing in on the winter flu season, means that more and more Australian children every day will miss their chance to be vaccinated against the virus. At present, most Australian children already receive immunisation at two, four and six months. Among federally funded immunisations for these ages are vaccines against hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus and polio. These presently subsidised initiatives have saved many children over many years. One of the more recent vaccinations, the vaccination against meningococcal C, has been on the NIP since 2003. The high profile of this uncommon yet potentially fatal illness ensures that funding was granted relatively quickly; however, the rotavirus is not fortunate enough to receive as much public debate. The rotavirus vaccine, it seems, may suffer the same fate as the pneumococcal disease vaccine. Despite recommendations from the PBAC and the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, it took the government two years before funding was announced for the pneumococcal disease vaccine just prior to the last federal election. Will the government continue to drag its feet or will it give rotavirus the immediate attention that it requires?

The safety and efficacy of this vaccine has been evaluated in one of the largest clinical trials in history. Conducted in 11 countries and involving 70,000 infants, the trials showed that the vaccine can reduce severe rotavirus gastroenteritis by 98 per cent, reduce hospitalisations by 96 per cent and reduce visits to the emergency department by 94 per cent. The vaccine was recommended by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee for funding on the NIP in November last year. Until funding is approved, a full course will cost families of suffering children up to $300.

There are a large number of families with small children who are already having difficulty in making the family budget meet their obligations, and many have to consider whether they have the $200 or $300 to pay for a rotavirus vaccine because of the government’s delay in making a decision of this important health issue. Why then has it taken four months for the government to take action since the PBAC’s recommendation? The Minister for Health and Ageing has said that the government has been in negotiations with suppliers over the cost of the vaccine. While this is a positive step, time is of the essence. Funding must be approved as soon as possible so that as many of our children as possible can get through this winter free of illness. Why stall over money when it concerns our most precious commodity?

Rotavirus has a major impact on the health system in terms of both cost and service utilisation. The cost of admissions, emergency department visits and GP visits for the virus in children under five years is estimated at $30 million a year. It has been reported that putting the vaccine on the NIP would cost taxpayers around $28 million per year. Using this figure, funding the vaccine would actually save the Australian public money. An immunisation program against rotavirus will have a significant effect on our public hospitals. It will reduce emergency department presentation, reduce overall hospital admissions and offer significant savings to our overburdened public hospital system. Beds in paediatric wards are working to capacity, particularly in winter months. Children who are admitted with gastroenteritis need to be isolated, adding greater pressures on the wards.

An immunisation program to prevent this illness should be wholeheartedly supported. The government can alleviate much of this pressure and make a significant difference to the lives of children, their families, childcare services and the health profession. Professor Geoffrey Davidson from the Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide estimates that, if the vaccine did receive government funding, during the flu or winter months traffic in the emergency departments of his hospital would be reduced by 10 per cent.

The government still has the opportunity to remove a major burden on the health system by reducing the impact on emergency departments and the subsequent blockages which rotavirus creates. We need a decision now. We need to get the vaccine out into the community protecting our children in time for this illnesses peak period. Approximately 27 children are hospitalised in Australia with rotavirus gastroenteritis every day. Now we have a vaccine that prevents this virus, so let us not waste another day. The government’s advisory committee says that it should be on the immunisation scheme and medical specialists, emergency departments, parents and the wider Australian community are all calling on the government to fund a rotavirus vaccine before the next winter epidemic. It is now time for the federal government to announce that it will fund infant rotavirus vaccines for all Australian infants. I understand that the Northern Territory government has already acted, tired of the delay by the federal government. Late last year, it undertook to fund the vaccine, at a cost of $1.5 million, ensuring that Northern Territory infants are immunised against this virus. It is time for the federal government to act. Stop the delay. Fund the vaccination and protect our kids.