We may be approaching spring, but some parts of the United States are still suffering from the effects of the flu and other infections.
Ohio, Nebraska, New Mexico, Michigan and Arkansas have “very high” levels of flu activity (the highest number of people going to the doctor with flu-like symptoms), the CDC’s latest weekly report showed.
And many other states have “high” levels of respiratory illnesses, the data showed, the same number as the previous week.
At the same time, norovirus, more commonly known as the stomach flu, has been spreading rapidly across the Northeast, putting “lives on hold” in some areas.
Ohio, Nebraska, New Mexico, Michigan and Arkansas have “very high” levels of flu activity, the CDC’s latest weekly report showed.
According to the latest data from the CDC, which compiles information from 3,400 hospitals across the country, just over 14 percent of tests came back positive for the flu in the U.S. during the week ending the 24th. February, a slight decrease compared to the previous week.
The graph shows common symptoms (green checkmark), occasional and possible symptoms (orange circle) and symptoms that never occur (red cross) with the common cold, flu and Covid.
The most recent data from the CDC showed that nearly 14 percent of tests in the region came back positive for norovirus in early February, up from about four percent in November before the outbreak began.
While high infection rates are not unusual this time of year, doctors have said many people are suffering more severe illness than usual due to lockdowns and social isolation during the pandemic, which have weakened immunity.
During the week ending Feb. 24, more than 16 percent of tests came back positive for norovirus, CDC data showed. Positivity rates in the Northeast have been more than 13 percent over the past month.
Norovirus spreads easily through contact with contaminated surfaces and then touching the area around the mouth or nose.
Infections usually cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as stomach pain and watery diarrhea, as well as fever and headache.
In the vast majority of cases, symptoms disappear within two days, and little treatment is needed other than bed rest.
Ohio, which currently has the most people going to the doctor with flu-like symptoms than anywhere else in the United States, has seen a six percent increase in respiratory illnesses since the previous week.
Its flu hospitalization rate is 51 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Two more children died from the flu in the week ending February 24, bringing the total to 93 pediatric deaths since the start of the flu season in October of last year.
About 174 deaths were reported during the 2022-23 flu season as of October 31, 2023.
In the last flu season, the CDC estimated that there have been at least 26 million illnesses, 290,000 hospitalizations and 18,000 deaths from the flu so far.
During the 2022-2023 season, an estimated 31 million people fell ill with the flu, with 14 million visits to a health care provider for flu, 360,000 flu hospitalizations, and 21,000 flu deaths.
According to the latest data from the CDC, which compiles information from 3,400 hospitals across the country, more than 14 percent of tests came back positive for the flu in the U.S. during the week ending March 24. February, a slight decrease from the previous week. .
The CDC surveillance system tracks doctor visits for respiratory illnesses that include fever, cough, or sore throat.
Data from the Ohio Department of Health showed that the number of flu-like illnesses is currently above the five-year average for this time of year.
Caused by influenza viruses, the flu usually causes people to cough, the most common symptom of cross-seasonal viruses.
Flu symptoms are usually much more intense than those of a cold and can even cause stomach problems.
In some cases it can be fatal if complications, such as pneumonia, arise among the most vulnerable.
Between October 1, 2023 and February 24, 2024, there were about 18,790 flu-related hospitalizations.
Respiratory disease levels typically peak in January and February due to cold weather.
It comes as fears arise on social media platforms about a “mystery virus” that has caused Covid-like symptoms, despite many testing negative for the virus, as well as flu and RSV.
People described being sick for weeks with high fever, nausea, difficulty breathing, loss of sense of smell and fatigue.
But health experts said the virus is less mysterious than it is made out to be online.
There are viruses circulating at all times of the year, and this “mystery virus” is probably one of the common seasonal diseases that were suppressed during the Covid pandemic.
There is believed to be a double effect at play. People are hypersensitive to their own health after the pandemic, and our immune systems were weakened by things like lockdowns and working from home, when we weren’t exposed to germs, which made illnesses seem more brutal.