Winter is here, and with it come higher rates of respiratory illnesses. If you’ve been struck down recently with a sore throat, runny nose and a cough, or perhaps even a fever, you’re not alone.

Last week, non-urgent surgeries were paused in several Queensland hospitals due to a surge of influenza and COVID cases filling up hospital beds.

Meanwhile, more than 200 aged care facilities around Australia are reportedly facing COVID outbreaks.

So, just how bad are respiratory infections this year, and which viruses are causing the biggest problems?

COVID

Until May, COVID case numbers were about half last year’s level, but June’s 32,348 notifications are closing the gap (compared with 45,634 in June 2024). That said, we know far fewer people test now than they did earlier in the pandemic, so these numbers are likely to be an underestimate.

According to the latest Australian Respiratory Surveillance Report, Australia now appears to be emerging from a winter wave of COVID cases driven largely by the NB.1.8.1 subvariant, known as “Nimbus”.

Besides classic cold-like symptoms, this Omicron offshoot can reportedly cause particularly painful sore throats as well as gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhoea.

While some people who catch COVID have no symptoms or just mild ones, for many people the virus can be serious. Older adults and those with chronic health issues remain at greatest risk of experiencing severe illness and dying from COVID.

Some 138 aged care residents have died from COVID since the beginning of June.

The COVID booster currently available is based on the JN.1 subvariant. Nimbus is a direct descendant of JN.1 – as is another subvariant in circulation, XFG or “Stratus” – which means the vaccine should remain effective against current variants.

Free boosters are available to most people annually, while those aged 75 and older are advised to get one every six months.

Vaccination, as well as early treatment with antivirals, lowers the risk of severe illness and long COVID. People aged 70 and older, as well as younger people with certain risk factors, are eligible for antivirals if they test positive.

Influenza

The 2025 flu season has been unusually severe. From January to May, total case numbers were 30% higher than last year, increasing pressure on health systems.

More recent case numbers seem to be trending lower than 2024, however we don’t appear to have reached the peak yet.

Flu symptoms are generally more severe than the common cold and may include high fever, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, sore throat and a runny or blocked nose.

Most people recover in under a week, but the flu can be more severe (and even fatal) in groups including older people, young children and pregnant women.

An annual vaccination is available for free to children aged 6 months to 4 years, pregnant women, those aged 65+, and other higher-risk groups.

Queensland and Western Australia provide a free flu vaccine for all people aged 6 months and older, but in other states and territories, people not eligible for a free vaccine can pay (usually A$30 or less) to receive one.

RSV

The third significant respiratory virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), only became a notifiable disease in 2021 (before this doctors didn’t need to record infections, meaning data is sparse).

Last year saw Australia’s highest case numbers since RSV reporting began. By May, cases in 2025 were lower than 2024, but by June, they had caught up: 27,243 cases this June versus 26,596 in June 2024. However it looks as though we may have just passed the peak.

RSV’s symptoms are usually mild and cold-like, but it can cause serious illness such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Infants, older people, and people with chronic health conditions are among those at highest risk. In young children, RSV is a leading cause of hospitalisation.

A free vaccine is now available for pregnant women, protecting infants for up to six months. A monoclonal antibody (different to a vaccine but also given as an injection) is also available for at-risk children up to age two, especially if their mothers didn’t receive the RSV vaccine during pregnancy.

For older adults, two RSV vaccines (Arexvy and Abrysvo) are available, with a single dose recommended for everyone aged 75+, those over 60 at higher risk due to medical conditions, and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 60+.

Unfortunately, these are not currently subsidised and cost about $300. Protection lasts at least three years.

The common cold

While viruses including COVID, RSV and influenza dominate headlines, we often overlook one of the most widespread – the common cold.

The common cold can be caused by more than 200 different viruses – mainly rhinoviruses but also some coronaviruses, adenoviruses and enteroviruses.

Typical symptoms include a runny or blocked nose, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, headache, tiredness and sometimes a mild fever.

Children get about 6–8 colds per year while adults average 2–4, and symptoms usually resolve in a week. Most recover with rest, fluids, and possibly over-the-counter medications.

Because so many different viruses cause the common cold, and because these constantly mutate, developing a vaccine has been extremely challenging. Researchers continue to explore solutions, but a universal cold vaccine remains elusive.

How do I protect myself and others?

The precautions we learned during the COVID pandemic remain valid. These are all airborne viruses which can be spread by coughing, sneezing and touching contaminated surfaces.

Practise good hygiene, teach children proper cough etiquette, wear a high-quality mask if you’re at high risk, and stay home to rest if unwell.

You can now buy rapid antigen tests (called panel tests) that test for influenza (A or B), COVID and RSV. So, if you’re unwell with a respiratory infection, consider testing yourself at home.

While many winter lurgies can be trivial, this is not always the case. We can all do our bit to reduce the impact.

Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of South Australia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Creating art for healing purposes dates back tens of thousands of years, to the practices of First Nations people around the world. Art therapy uses creative processes, primarily visual art such as painting, drawing or sculpture, with a view to improving physical health and emotional wellbeing.

When people face significant physical or mental ill-health, it can be challenging to put their experiences into words. Art therapists support people to explore and process overwhelming thoughts, feelings and experiences through a reflective art-making process. This is distinct from art classes, which often focus on technical aspects of the artwork, or the aesthetics of the final product.

Art therapy can be used to support treatment for a wide range of physical and mental health conditions. It has been linked to benefits including improved self-awareness, social connection and emotional regulation, while lowering levels of distress, anxiety and even pain scores.

In a study published this week in the Journal of Mental Health, we found art therapy was associated with positive outcomes for children and adolescents in a hospital-based mental health unit.

An option for those who can’t find the words

While a person’s engagement in talk therapies may sometimes be affected by the nature of their illness, verbal reflection is optional in art therapy.

Where possible, after finishing an artwork, a person can explore the meaning of their work with the art therapist, translating unspoken symbolic material into verbal reflection.

However, as the talking component is less central to the therapeutic process, art therapy is an accessible option for people who may not be able to find the words to describe their experiences.

Art therapy has supported improved mental health outcomes for people who have experienced trauma, people with eating disorders, schizophrenia and dementia, as well as children with autism.

Art therapy has also been linked to improved outcomes for people with a range of physical health conditions. These include lower levels of anxiety, depression and fatigue among people with cancer, enhanced psychological stability for patients with heart disease, and improved social connection among people who have experienced a traumatic brain injury.

Art therapy has been associated with improved mood and anxiety levels for patients in hospital, and lower pain, tiredness and depression among palliative care patients.

Our research

Mental ill-health, including among children and young people, presents a major challenge for our society. While most care takes place in the community, a small proportion of young people require care in hospital to ensure their safety.

In this environment, practices that place even greater restriction, such as seclusion or physical restraint, may be used briefly as a last resort to ensure immediate physical safety. However, these “restrictive practices” are associated with negative effects such as post-traumatic stress for patients and health professionals.

Worryingly, staff report a lack of alternatives to keep patients safe. However, the elimination of restrictive practices is a major aim of mental health services in Australia and internationally.

Our research looked at more than six years of data from a child and adolescent mental health hospital ward in Australia. We sought to determine whether there was a reduction in restrictive practices during the periods when art therapy was offered on the unit, compared to times when it was absent.

We found a clear association between the provision of art therapy and reduced frequency of seclusion, physical restraint and injection of sedatives on the unit.

We don’t know the precise reason for this. However, art therapy may have lessened levels of severe distress among patients, thereby reducing the risk they would harm themselves or others, and the likelihood of staff using restrictive practices to prevent this.

That said, hospital admission involves multiple therapeutic interventions including talk-based therapies and medications. Confirming the effect of a therapeutic intervention requires controlled clinical trials where people are randomly assigned one treatment or another.

Although ours was an observational study, randomised controlled trials support the benefits of art therapy in youth mental health services. For instance, a 2011 hospital-based study showed reduced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder among adolescents randomised to trauma-focussed art therapy compared to a “control” arts and crafts group.

What do young people think?

In previous research we found art therapy was considered by adolescents in hospital-based mental health care to be the most helpful group therapy intervention compared to other talk-based therapy groups and creative activities.

In research not yet published, we’re speaking with young people to better understand their experiences of art therapy, and why it might reduce distress. One young person accessing art therapy in an acute mental health service shared:

[Art therapy] is a way of sort of letting out your emotions in a way that doesn’t involve being judged […] It let me release a lot of stuff that was bottling up and stuff that I couldn’t explain through words.

A promising area

The burgeoning research showing the benefits of art therapy for both physical and especially mental health highlights the value of creative and innovative approaches to treatment in health care.

There are opportunities to expand art therapy services in a range of health-care settings. Doing so would enable greater access to art therapy for people with a variety of physical and mental health conditions.

Sarah Versitano, Academic, Master of Art Therapy Program, Western Sydney University and Iain Perkes, Senior Lecturer, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.