Health officials seeing uptick in respiratory viruses ahead of the holiday season
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- It's the season of winter viruses in North Carolina.
According to some experts in the Triangle, hospital systems, such as WakeMed, are seeing a "quadrupledemic" of respiratory viruses, such as COVID-19, influenza, RSV, and walking pneumonia this year.
"We're seeing rises in several viruses, mostly influenza, as well as RSV," Dr. Christopher Chao said. "We've seen high levels of enterovirus and rhinovirus, and these are viruses that cause the common cold."
Experts say we usually see bumps after Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. But some good news is that the number of cases this year is not quite as bad as case counts last year.
"We're still seeing COVID around, but the numbers of COVID have not been anywhere near what we saw them three months or four months ago," Dr. Chao said.
According to data from the NC Department of Health and Human Services, as of Dec. 14, flu and RSV are on the rise, while Covid cases have been steady, according to Dr. David Weber at UNC Health.
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"RSV last week was roughly 70 cases. Flu is 35. So more RSV than flu, but not much in the way of people needing hospitalization," Dr. Weber said.
However, he added that they're seeing cases of the common cold on the rise, with 140 cases last week.
"The other thing we continue to see for the last three or four weeks is a large number of cases of walking pneumonia," Dr. Weber said.
Experts say it's not too late to get the vaccine and protect yourself this holiday season, as they're expecting all four diseases to peak after Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's celebrations end in early January.
"It doesn't mean that Christmas or holiday gatherings have to be ruined, or you have to isolate, but just means that we use common sense," Dr. Chao said. "If you are sick, assume that you are contagious and protect your family and protect your loved ones."
