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Welcome to the Northeast edition of Outbreak Outlook! It is only available to paid subscribers. If you wish to become a paid subscriber and access region-specific information, please click the Subscribe Now button below. Thanks for reading! -Caitlin Rivers Respiratory diseasesInfluenza-like illnessThe past week has seen a general rise in influenza-like illness (ILI) rates across the Northeast. On average, ILI rates in the region have increased from 2.6% to 2.9%, which is similar to the national average. Multiple states are already near or above 4%, including New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. New Jersey posted the largest increase at +0.9%, followed by Connecticut at +0.4%, and New York at +0.4%. Nearly all Northeast states experienced rising ILI, except for Rhode Island which saw a small 0.1% decline. Flu season is definitely underway in the region. Covid-19Although the Northeast currently has the highest Covid-19 hospitalization rates in the nation, most states in the region are seeing a decline in activity. The regional weekly admission rate dropped from 5.3 to 4.9 per 100,000. The recent summer peak was 7, for reference. Multiple states saw notable declines, including New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. New Hampshire posted the largest decrease. Nearly all Northeast states experienced falling hospitalization rates except for Vermont, which saw a 1.2 increase in hospitalizations per 100,000.
I have something new for you this week! The plot above shows how Covid-19 activity changed for each state from one week to the next. The points at the start and the end of the arrow are the hospitalization rates during each of the weeks. The number given in a percent is the percent change. Love it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments. RSVRSV continues to make rapid gains across the Northeast—activity increased another 2 percentage points in the past week. Test positivity is now 10%, up from 8% last week and 6% two weeks ago. Nearly all states in the region are reporting increases this week. Those trends have been sustained for several weeks now. Massachusetts continues to report the highest case positivity in the region at 15.8%. Pennsylvania has increased to 11.4%, up from 9.4% last week. Maine, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey are all reporting PCR test positivity rates of 6-8%. Vermont continues to stand apart, with a low test positivity of 1.3%; there is insufficient data for Rhode Island. There is no suggestion that RSV has peaked in the region yet; last year test positivity rose to nearly 20% test positivity before declining. As cases continue to rise, remember to wash your hands frequently, clean frequently touched surfaces, and avoid touching your face. Other Respiratory + Stomach BugsI’m keeping an eye on several other respiratory and stomach bugs, but overall things are looking relatively quiet at the moment in the Northeast.
Food recallsThe following foods are being recalled because they are contaminated. Please check your cupboards and throw out any of these items: New this week:
Previously reported:
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
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