Respiratory Diseases

Influenza-like illness

This is the off-season. Activity is very low. Wastewater activity is very low. Outpatient visits for influenza-like activity account for just 1.03% of all outpatient visits. Every state is reporting minimal ILI activity.

There was a very small increase in outpatient ILI visits for the youngest kids this past week (ages 0-4). I will watch to see if this turns into a broader uptick, but for now rates remain very low at 3.4%. And remember, influenza-like illness is not all influenza. It’s anything that causes fever and cough or sore throat. All other age groups remain very low: 1.4% for those 5-24 years old, and <1% for all other ages.

Hospitalizations are holding steady at a very low 0.3 hospitalizations per 100,000 people.

COVID-19

Covid-19 activity rose again this week. There was a marked increase in wastewater concentration, with increases in all four regions. Nationally, wastewater activity is sitting right on the threshold between low and moderate levels. There was a similar upturn in test positivity as well, which has doubled in the past couple weeks. Emergency department visits are also on the rise (shown below), though they remain low, accounting for 0.7% of all visits ED visits nationally. Hospitalizations remain fairly flat and low, at 1.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 people.