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
Flu season is still at record levels in the Northeast, and unfortunately we haven’t caught a break just yet.
New York City leads the Northeast with outpatient influenza-like illness (ILI) at 12.2% in the most recent week, down slightly from 12.8% the week prior.
- Cases of measles are rising across five U.S. states including New York, with 14 confirmed cases reported so far in 2025. According to CDC data, 43 percent of these cases have required hospitalization for isolation or complications management. The outbreak comes amid an already challenging respiratory virus season in New York State, where flu cases have reached a 15-year high. The other affected states are Alaska, Georgia, Rhode Island, and Texas. Outbreaks are primarily affecting unvaccinated individuals.
Massachusetts maintains high activity with outpatient ILI rising to 11.5% in the most recent week, up from 10.8%. Emergency department visits also increased to 9.6% in the most recent week, up from 9.1%, which means continued widespread transmission.
New Hampshire and New Jersey show persistent elevated activity. New Hampshire’s outpatient ILI increased to 10.9% in the most recent week from 10.4%, with emergency department visits rising to 9.6% from 9.2%. New Jersey’s outpatient ILI decreased to 10.0% from 10.5%, with emergency department visits also declining to 8.7% from 9.6%.
Outpatient influenza-like illness (%)
% of visits to the doctor that are for fever and cough or sore throat
Maine and Connecticut reported increasing ILI levels. Maine’s outpatient ILI rose to 6.9% from 5.8%, while emergency department visits jumped to 5.9% from 4.7%. Connecticut’s outpatient ILI increased to 6.8% from 6.4%, with stable emergency department visits at 8.8% but declining hospitalizations (17.4 per 100,000, down from 20.7).
Rhode Island, New York state, and Pennsylvania showed mixed trends. Rhode Island’s outpatient ILI decreased slightly to 6.9% from 7.1%, with emergency department visits falling to 5.3% from 5.8%. New York state (excluding NYC) saw outpatient ILI dip to 6.1% from 6.2%, with decreasing emergency department visits (5.4% from 6.1%) and falling hospitalization rates (15.4 per 100,000 from 17.2). Pennsylvania showed rising outpatient ILI at 5.0% from 4.5%, with emergency department visits increasing to 7.9% from 7.0%.
Northeast: ED visits for influenza (%)
% of visits to the emergency department that are for influenza
The spike last week in Covid-19 wastewater activity appears to have been a blip caused by a delay in New York wastewater reporting. New York wastewater activity is far lower than the rest of the region, so without New York data, the regional rate shot up. With New York data added back in this week, Covid-19 wastewater activity shows a slight upward tick, but remains moderate.
ED visits and hospitalizations decreased or held steady, with no states reporting increases.
Northeast Covid-19 Wastewater
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Activity is very high and increasing towards a second winter peak in Vermont. In Pennsylvania, activity is high and increasing as well – and may be heading toward a second winter peak as well. The state continues to have the highest hospitalization rate in the region, of 10.0 hospitalizations per 100,000, but it did decrease a bit this week. We will see if this trend continues or if the wastewater activity continues to rise.
Wastewater activity has plummeted in the past two weeks in Rhode Island and Maine, declining ~2.5x, from very high almost to moderate levels in the former and almost moderate levels in the latter. Both states also reported decreases in ED visits and hospitalizations this past week.
Similarly, in Massachusetts, activity remains high, but has declined significantly in the past few weeks, as have ED visits and hospitalizations. Wastewater activity is also decreasing in Connecticut (very high activity) and New Jersey (high). Wastewater activity is stable at minimal levels in New York. (Insufficient data for New Hampshire).
Northeast: ED visits for Covid-19 (%)
% of emergency department visits that are for Covid-19
Data were not updated this week.
Data were not updated this week, so nothing to report here.
The following foods are being recalled because they are contaminated. Please check your cupboards and throw out any of these items:
New:
- Menma Ajitsuke Prepared Bamboo Shoots sold under Choshiya brand name (more info)
- Canned Tuna sold under Genova, Van Camp’s, H-E-B, and Trader Joe’s brand names (more info)
Previously reported:
- Alfalfa sprouts sold under the Jack and the Green Sprouts brand name (more info)
- Aleppo Tahini Sesame Paste (more info)
- DJ’s Boudain sausage links (more info)
- Blue Ridge Beef Natural Mix [for dogs] (more info). While not for human consumption, humans may be infected with Salmonella if they do not adequately wash their hands or contaminated surfaces after handling the product.
- If you have food allergies, you may wish to review these FDA safety alerts and USDA alerts for foods with undeclared allergens.
- The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services reported the state’s first case of clade I mpox in an adult from Merrimack County who recently traveled to Eastern Africa. The individual is currently isolating at home, and health officials emphasize there is no risk to the public. This marks the third clade I mpox diagnosis in the United States, which is distinct from the clade II variant that caused the 2022 U.S. outbreak. The case appears to be travel-related, with no evidence of person-to-person transmission within New Hampshire or the United States.
- The CDC has reported New York’s first case of clade1b mpox in a person who recently traveled from East Africa, marking the fourth known case of this strain in the United States following earlier cases in California, Georgia, and New Hampshire. The patient is currently in isolation with improving symptoms despite not receiving specific mpox treatments, and health officials are conducting contact tracing.
- The Bentworth School District, Pennsylvania has switched to remote learning for two days after a severe flu outbreak affected both students and staff, including the superintendent himself who was too ill for interviews.
- The Pennsylvania Game Commission has reported the first case of chronic wasting disease in Carbon County after a severely emaciated buck (deer) was found dead on private property, located more than 10 miles from any previously known cases. This follows last week’s first-time detections in neighboring Luzerne County, where two bucks tested positive, one from a hunting harvest and another from a deer-breeding farm. The fatal neurological disease, first detected in Pennsylvania in 2012, is caused by infectious prions that resist standard sterilization and cooking methods, prompting officials to urge hunters to test harvested animals before consuming the meat.
