Bay Area health officials on Wednesday said flu activity and other activity had increased significantly.
respiratory virus
Emergency department visits have spiked since the beginning of the month, straining the health care system across the region.
Santa Clara County Deputy Health Officer Dr. Sarah Rudman said at a press conference, “This is the first year we’re not only facing COVID, but also the first year we’re facing increased flu activity and unusually high levels of RSV. “These are two other types of viruses that can cause the same respiratory symptoms as COVID, but can cause severe respiratory and even life-threatening illness.” I have.”
of
Santa Clara County
According to the Department of Health, the rate of emergency room visits for flu-like illness this year is three times higher than during the 2019-2020 flu season, before the COVID-19 pandemic began.In response, the agency
Wastewater Data Dashboard
Monitoring Flu Concentrations in County — One of the First U.S. Attempts
Widely used to monitor coronavirus levels, the tool serves as an early warning system for hospitals and healthcare systems.
“Right now, wastewater is showing elevated levels of flu everywhere in our county, in every sewer we monitor,” Rudman said.
Bay Area children’s hospitals are seeing an increase in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV is a common viral disease that can cause respiratory problems in infants, young children, and the elderly. This is part of a nationwide surge that has been particularly severe in parts of the country.
monday, california
Health officials report first death
of children under the age of 5 with influenza and RSV. And it’s not clear which virus caused the death.
At Wednesday’s briefing, Dr. Vidya Mony, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, said: “If you look at a lot of the curves, it’s pretty much linear, which is significantly higher than what we’ve seen in the last few years.”
UCSF Children’s Hospital of Benioff has reported a “high number” of respiratory illnesses, including RSV, said Chief Medical Officer Joan Zoltanski, PhD.
“As soon as a bed opens right now, there are people waiting to take advantage of that bed,” she said. Patients are waiting much longer than usual.”
On Wednesday, Tamalpais Pediatrics, which has several clinics in Marin County, sent an advisory to customers saying it was “experiencing an unprecedented amount of phone calls, portal messages and visits.”
According to Dr. Nelson Branco of Tamalpais Pediatrics, there are typically 200-300 calls and 100-120 visits on a Monday at this time of year. The clinic had more than 500 calls on Monday and has seen 170 to 180 patients each day this week, with same-day patients, mostly for respiratory ailments, Blanco said. .
“We were high a few weeks ago. Now we’re at a point we haven’t seen in over 25 years of practice,” Blanco said.
Blanco said the amount isn’t the same as for more serious cases of infection, but “the few people who needed to be sent to the hospital had trouble finding a place.”
Branco noted that the past week or two have seen more flu cases after an early spike in RSV cases.
“The sickest people in our office, of all ages, tested positive for the flu,” he said.
“In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a sharp spike in cases, both inpatients and outpatients,” Mony said. “The main cause of these hospitalizations is secondary to respiratory viruses, especially RSV.”
RSV cases declined dramatically in 2020, the first year of the pandemic.but those people
surged last summer
As COVID restrictions eased. The rate of increase has slowed this year, but recently there have been more positive reactions than at the same time last year.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“In the past few weeks, we have also seen an increase in COVID-19 infections among pediatric patients,” Mony added.
Vaccines for influenza and COVID-19 are widely available, but there is no immunization to prevent RSV. Instead, health officials are urging Bay Area residents to follow measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. This means washing your hands frequently, wearing a mask indoors, and keeping sick people at home as much as possible.
“All of these viruses can cause mild illness in most older children and young adults, but the youngest children, the oldest adult members of the community, and those with other medical problems may be affected.” “We are already seeing these diseases hitting our youngest children right now,” Rudman said.
Aidin Vaziri and Matt Kawahara are staff writers for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
