Hits: 283
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, click the Subscribe now button below.
Respiratory DiseasesInfluenzaInfluenza continues to spread widely across the Northeast. However, there were region-wide decreases in trips to the doctor for influenza-like illness (ILI) and also trips to the emergency department (ED) for flu. Northeast: ED visits for influenza (%)
% of emergency department visits that are for influenza
 Moderate-to-high activityIn Maine, activity is still high, but both outpatient ILI (3.5%) and ED visits (2.5%), dropped about a point this past week, which is encouraging. Similarly, in New Hampshire, outpatient ILI remains on the high side at 3.4%, but both ILI and ED visits (2.8%) are dropping. In New Jersey, outpatient ILI is down to 4.8% (which is categorized as moderate for the state), and ED visits at 1.7%. In Massachusetts, outpatient ILI is down to 3.2%, and ED visits are down to 1.6%. Northeast: Outpatient influenza like illness (%)
% of visits to the doctor that are for fever and cough or sore throat
 Low activityThe biggest states in the region (New York and Pennsylvania) are finally down to low levels of activity. In New York, outpatient ILI is down to 2.9%, and ED visits for flu are at just 0.8%. In New York City, flu continues to decrease, dropping to just 0.5% of ED visits and 0.4% of hospitalizations. In Pennsylvania, outpatient ILI is 2.3%, the lowest in the region, and ED visits have decreased to 2.1%. In addition, ED visits in Vermont dropped from 5% down to 3% in the past week, and outpatient ILI declined to 2.4%. Rhode Island is also down to low levels, with outpatient ILI at 2.4% and ED visits at 1.2%. COVID-19Wastewater activity is moderate but bouncing around in the region. ED visits for Covid-19 are fairly low and improving, so on the whole I think the picture is quite good. Where rates are a bit higherMaine is turning the corner. Wastewater activity is high, but dipped a bit, and ED visits dropped slightly to 1.1%. In Massachusetts, wastewater activity is high and rising, but ED visits are at 0.8% and have been decreasing for the past few weeks. Similarly, in Connecticut, wastewater activity is also high and rising. However, ED visits held steady at 0.9% and hospitalizations decreased to a fairly low 2.1 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. Northeast: ED visits for Covid-19 (%)
% of emergency department visits for Covid-19
 Where rates are more moderateIn Pennsylvania, wastewater activity is moderate and rising, and ED visits remain a bit more elevated, despite improvements this past week (to 0.8%). In Vermont, ED visits fell substantially this past week, from nearly 1.2 down to 0.7%. However, wastewater activity in the state is moderate and rising again. New Hampshire has dropped from high down to moderate wastewater activity levels. ED visits remain a bit elevated at 1.0%, but are also moving in the right direction. In New York, ED visits held steady at 0.4% and hospitalizations ticked up slightly to 2.8 per 100,000. Wastewater data jumped to high levels in the state, but data was incomplete this week, so I am not convinced this represents what is happening in the state as a whole. This seems particularly likely because ED visits in New York City held steady at a low 0.2%, as did hospitalizations at 0.2%, so I doubt the state is resurging. Rhode Island is also in good shape. Wastewater activity is low, and ED visits decreased down to 0.5% this past week. RSVRSV is elevated, with about half the Northeast still seeing increases in ED visits and the other half declining. This pattern often marks peak season. ED visits for RSV are elevated and increasing in New Hampshire (0.8%). The only other state to see a notable increase was Connecticut, where ED visits rose to 0.5% and hospitalizations increased to 3.0, which is higher than hospitalizations for flu or Covid-19. Rates held roughly steady at moderate levels in Pennsylvania (0.5%) and New York (0.4%). Hospitalizations in New York remain moderately elevated as well, but decreased slightly, to 2.1. In New York City, ED visits for RSV remain flat at 0.4%, as do hospitalizations at 0.4%. RSV remains elevated, but decreased this past week in Massachusetts (0.7%) and New Jersey (0.7%). Both Rhode Island and Vermont saw large declines in ED visits, dropping by more than half to ~0.3%. Trips to the ED are lowest in Maine, at just 0.2%. Northeast: ED visits for RSV (%)
% of emergency department visits that are for RSV
 Other BugsLots of respiratory bugs are circulating right now.
NorovirusNorovirus loves February. Activity is high and climbing across the country. While rates are not stratospheric like last season, we are at typical (high) levels for this time of year. Test positivity was 13.5% this past week at the national level. Rates have spiked in the Northeast, climbing to 15.8% test positivity this past week, up from 8.6% in mid-January. This is the highest rates have been so far this season. Food recallsThe following foods are being recalled because they are contaminated. Please check your cupboards and throw out any of these items: New:
Previously Reported:
In other news
|