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Environmental Health Indicators

Lower respiratory tract infections

Surveillance Reports and Metadata

Surveillance Report: Lower respiratory tract infection hospitalisations (0–4 years) (Jul 2026) Download report PDF
Metadata: Lower respiratory tract infection hospitalisations Download report PDF

Poor indoor and outdoor air quality increases the risk of lower respiratory tract infections among children

Lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) refer to infections of the windpipe (trachea), lungs, and airways (bronchi, bronchioles). These include pneumonia, bronchitis and bronchiolitis. Household crowding [1], second-hand smoke exposure [2], indoor dampness and mould [3], and outdoor air pollution [4] increase the risk of lower respiratory tract infections in young children.

LRTI is responsible for a large burden of avoidable mortality and morbidity among young children under five years old globally. Compared with other developed countries, New Zealand has high rates of LRTI hospitalisation among young children [5]. Each year, a small number of children in New Zealand die from lower respiratory tract infections. Between 2001 and 2018, 173 children under five years of age died from lower respiratory tract infections, an average of 10 deaths every year.

 

LRTI hospitalisation rates among children are higher for some groups

Infants (under one year old), Pacific and Maori children, and children living in the most deprived areas continue to have the highest hospitalisation rates for LRTI in New Zealand. 

For more information, view the surveillance report linked at the top of this page.

 

Information about this data

Lower respiratory tract infection hospitalisations

Source: National Minimum Dataset, Ministry of Health

Definition: Acute and semi-acute hospitalisations with pneumonia (ICD-10AM J12–J16, J18), bronchitis (J20), bronchiolitis (J21) or unspecified acute lower respiratory tract infection (J22) as the primary diagnosis, for children aged 0–4 years.  Analyses excluded overseas visitors and transfers within and between hospitals. Rates have been presented per 100,000 children.  

References

  1. Baker MG, McDonald A, Zhang J, Howden-Chapman P. 2013. Infectious diseases attributable to household crowding in New Zealand: A systematic review and burden of disease estimate. Wellington: He Kainga Oranga/ Housing and Health Research Programme, University of Otago. 
  2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2007. Children and Secondhand Smoke Exposure. Excerpts from The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health.
  3. Fisk W, Eliseeva E, Mendell M. 2010. Association of residential dampness and mold with respiratory tract infections and bronchitis: a meta-analysis. Environmental Health 9(1): 72. doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-9-72
  4. Mehta S, Shin H, Burnett R, et al. 2013. Ambient particulate air pollution and acute lower respiratory infections: a systematic review and implications for estimating the global burden of disease. Air Qual Atmos Health 6: 69–83.
  5. Trenholme AA, Byrnes CA, McBride C, et al. 2013. Respiratory health outcomes 1 year after admission with severe lower respiratory tract infection. Pediatric Pulmonology 48: 772–79
  6. Britton PN, Hu N, Saravanos G, et al. 2020. COVID-19 public health measures and respiratory syncytial virus. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 4 (11): e42–e43.
  7. Groves HE, Piche-Renaud PP, Peci A, et al. 2021. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and other seasonal respiratory virus circulation in Canada: A population-based study. The Lancet Regional Health – Americas 1: doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-9-72
  8. Hatter L, Eathorne A, Hills T, Bruce P, Beasley R. 2021. Respiratory syncytial virus: paying the immunity debt with interest. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 5 (12): e44-e45.
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