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Welcome to the Northeastern 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 Respiratory DiseasesILIFlu season is finally almost behind us. Outpatient influenza-like illness (ILI) dropped from 3.9% to 3.4% in the region. Activity is still above baseline, meaning we are still in flu season, but at least things are still headed in the right direction. It will be a few more weeks yet before we are in the clear. Across the Northeast, there were decreases in the rate of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness. Notable decreases in outpatient visits for ILI were seen in Rhode Island (-1.9 points) and New Hampshire (-0.6 points). Connecticut and Massachusetts also saw significant decreases of about 0.5 points. New Jersey has the highest rate of outpatient visits for ILI in the region, at 5% (compared to <2.5% for most of the region), but it too saw a decline this past week. In terms of more severe illness, emergency department visits for influenza now account for roughly 2% or less of all ED visits and declined in every state in the region in the past week. Hospitalizations are similarly improving across almost the entire region. Every state except New Hampshire reported a decrease in the influenza hospitalization rate. Connecticut reported a particularly steep drop in hospitalizations – down 1.9 points to 2.7 hospitalizations per 100,000, and Pennsylvania and Maine also reported substantial declines of 1.1 and 1.2 points, respectively. COVID-19Covid-19 is also improving across the Northeast. Wastewater data continue to look good—levels have dropped dramatically since December, and concentration is now similar to last July. Emergency department visits declined across the entire region, too. New hospital admissions for Covid-19 also continue to decline, and are low across the region. Most states in the region saw substantial declines in new hospitalizations, including Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Vermont wins most improved of the week, with a decline of 44.4% and lowest overall rate at 1.6 new admissions per 100,000. New Jersey and New York saw more moderate declines in hospitalizations (between 16-18%), and Maine and Massachusetts held steady. Stomach BugsNorovirus activity fell from 13.7% to 12.8% test positivity. This is the fourth week in a row that test positivity has declined, so my confidence is growing that we have past peak season in the region. Still, activity will likely remain high through April. ‘ The best way to prevent norovirus is to wash your hands using soap and water. Prevent onward transmission by staying home until 48 hours after symptoms resolve, and avoid preparing food for others during that time. Food recallsThe following foods are being recalled because they are contaminated. Please check your cupboards and throw out any of these items: New
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