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Respiratory diseases

Influenza-like illness

Influenza-like illness activity continues to rise in the Northeast, with 4.2% of visits to the doctor for fever and cough or sore throat, up from 3.8% the week prior. Flu season has been underway for quite a while now, and will likely peak either this month or next.

Northeast Region: ILI Activity

Percent of doctors visits for ILI symptoms

New Jersey and New York stand out as having high levels of activity at around 6%. Please use caution if you are in those states. Connecticut and Massachusetts have middling levels of activity at around 3%, though activity in CT is declining. The other states in the region have quite low levels of ILI activity, at around 2% or less.

Northeast Region: Change in ILI Activity

Percent of doctors visits for ILI symptoms

Covid-19

Covid-19 activity is also increasing across the region, though this wave remains fairly modest compares to previous winters’. The number of new weekly hospitalizations is now at 8 per 100,000. Wastewater concentration is quite high though, second only to the Midwestern region—and concentration continues to rise. This tells me that further increases in Covid-19 activity are likely in the weeks ahead. Last winter’s high was 18, for context.

Northeast Region: New COVID-19 Hospitalizations

Rate per 100,000 population

At the state level, every state is seeing sizable increases. Connecticut is most heavily affected, followed by Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Only Rhode Island has low levels of activity.

Northeast Region: Change in New COVID-19 Hospitalizations

Weekly new hospitalizations per 100,000

RSV

RSV is still holding roughly steady in the Northeast, at about 13% PCR test positivity. The picture in individual states is mixed. Several states are showing continued week-over-week increases, including New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Connecticut. However, test positivity is declining in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

Among the two states in the region reporting hospitalizations for RSV – New York and Connecticut, hospitalizations appear to be decreasing, though the data are preliminary.

Northeast Region: RSV Activity

Test Positivity, Percentage

Other Respiratory + Stomach Bugs

I’m monitoring several other respiratory viruses and stomach bugs.

• Seasonal coronavirus activity is on the rise, bringing sniffles and stuffy noses along with it.
• No news is good news – human metapneumovirus activity remains low.
• There was a slight dip in test positivity for norovirus this week in the Northeast region, but I have been tricked before so I’m not reading too much into it. We’re still in the thick of noro season, and likely will be until springtime.

Northeast Region: Norovirus Activity

Test Positivity, Percentage

Food recalls

The following foods are being recalled because they are contaminated. Please check your cupboards and throw out any of these items:

New this week:

• Tons of different granola and oatmeal products from Quaker (more info).

Previously reported:

• Ready-to-eat chicken breast products under Chef’s Line brand name (more info).
• Ready-to-eat chicken fried rice under Freshness Guaranteed brand name (more info).
• If you have food allergies, you may wish to review these FDA safety alerts and USDA alerts for foods with undeclared allergens.

In Other News

• There is a hepatitis A outbreak in Massachusetts that is primarily affecting intravenous drug users and people experiencing homelessness. At least six cases were identified in November, four of whom had to be hospitalized. Hepatitis A is a highly-transmissible viral infection; it can be spread through close personal contact, including sexual contact, contaminated food or water, and through the sharing of needles. It can cause symptoms that last for months – including abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, jaundice, and fatigue – but it is not often fatal (unlike other forms of hepatitis). There is a vaccine available to prevent infection.