As many Americans prepare to celebrate Christmas and Chanukah, levels of respiratory diseases are rising. In the latest update from the CDC (the week ending on December 13), healthcare visits for respiratory viruses are at moderate level overall. Three key indicators of flu activity: test positivity, emergency room visits for flu, and percentage of outpatient visits for flulike illness increased from the week prior. Flu hospitalizations ticked up for Americans of all ages, with people 75 years and older suffering the highest rates. Of all laboratory confirmed flu cases, 97% were identified as influenza type A. Broken down further into subtypes, 53.5% were the H3N2 strain and 46.2% were 2009 swine flu strain.
RSV activity, which started the week at a high level, continued to rise. COVID-19 activity increased from a relatively low level. Emergency room visits, test positivity and wastewater concentrations for COVID all rose. Since the start of October, between 72,000-120,000 Americans have been admitted to the hospital for COVID-19, while 8,200-13,000 people have died from the disease.
Full Story: CIDRAP
