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Respiratory Diseases

ILI

Flu and flu-like illness continues to abate.

The proportion of visits to the doctor that are for flu and flu-like illness is below 2.5% in most of the Northeast, and this rate either declined or held steady in most states this past week.

However, the region as a whole is at 3.3% because of high activity in New Jersey — more on that below.

Northeast Region: ILI Activity

Percent of doctors visits for ILI symptoms

New Jersey stands out as a bit of an exception. Unlike most of the other states in the region, which have seen steady and substantial declines in visits to the doctor for cold and flu symptoms over the past few months, New Jersey has been sitting in the 4.5-5.5% range since mid-January. Its current rate – of 4.8% – is quite a bit higher than the rest of the region, and represents a slight increase from last week. This is also higher than New Jersey has reported this time of year for the past several years. However, when it comes to more severe illness, in the past week there was a decrease in ED visits and hospitalizations in the state.

Northeast Region: Change in ILI Activity

Percent of doctors visits for ILI symptoms

Emergency department visits for influenza decreased in all states, and hospitalizations for influenza declined in Massachusetts and Vermont, and remained stable in Maine, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

COVID-19

The spread of Covid-19 continues to decline in the Northeast, despite an uptick in hospitalizations. Wastewater concentrations are low and continuing to decline in the Northeast.

Northeast Region: New COVID-19 Hospitalizations

Average rate per 100,000 population

The rate of new hospital admissions for Covid-19 was stable in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. However, hospitalizations increased across the rest of Northeast this past week—moderately in Maine and Massachusetts and substantially (>20%) in Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. On the bright side, these rates are all fairly low.

Northeast Region: Change in New COVID-19 Hospitalizations

Weekly new hospitalizations per 100,000

A very small proportion of emergency department visits are for Covid-19 in the Northeast. This rate declined further in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. It remained stable in New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, and New Hampshire. Although Vermont reported a substantial increase in ED visits for Covid-19, its overall rate remains minimal (0.4%).

There is no indication that this is the start of a new Covid-19 surge.

All of these states have seen fairly consistent declines in hospitalizations over the past few months, and their hospitalization rates continue to be quite low (and far below what they were at the end of the year).

There is no corresponding rise in wastewater or ED visits. That being said, I’m keeping an eye on it.

Stomach Bugs

Still high, over 15% again this week. Keep washing those hands.

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

• None

Previously reported:

• Helados Mexico mango bars (more info)
• Trader Joe’s 50% Less Salt Roasted & Salted Whole Cashews (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

• New York City reported a rise in human leptospirosis cases. There were 24 cases reported in 2023, the highest annual count on record, and 6 cases already in 2024. The infections are primarily linked to environments contaminated with rat urine, particularly with the Norway rat.
• Leptospira, the causative bacteria, can survive in warm, moist conditions and enter the body through cuts or mucous membranes. A history of contact with contaminated areas is common among the NYC cases, predominantly reported by males with an average age of 50.
• While person-to-person transmission is rare, the illness spectrum is broad, ranging from mild flu-like symptoms to severe organ failure.
• So far in 2024, measles cases have been reported in New Jersey, New York City, and New York state. Each of these jurisdictions has had between 1-9 cases (the exact number is not reported).
• No human or cattle H5N1 cases (Bird Flu) have been reported in the Northeast.