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UNITED STATES – February 19, 2025 – This winter may be one of the worst flu seasons in more than 10 years. More patients are seeing doctors for symptoms of the flu since the winter of 2009-2010. The CDC classifies the flu as “high severity” this season.

As a result of the flu surge, hospitals, emergency rooms and doctor’s offices are crowded with patients sick with this illness. Many hospitals have all their beds occupied; therefore, very sick patients with the flu must remain in the emergency room until a bed is available. Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center in San Diego had to set up a temporary tent to see patients with flu symptoms because the emergency department was overwhelmed with patients. Many hospitals, including Mission Hospital in Asheville, are limiting visitors and not allowing children to visit to reduce the spread of the illness. The flu is so prevalent amongst children that, as of the first week in February, schools have had to close in at least 10 states to slow it’s spread. Most of the closures lasted only a few days.

In an interview with NBC news on February 11^th, Dr. Robert Needleman, an emergency department physician at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, said “We’ve seen a lot of sick people in general compared to previous years. It seems like they are having more respiratory issues.”

The flu is a very contagious respiratory illness that can last for a week. The influenza virus can be easily transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets.  Symptoms may include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose and body aches. The flu may be very common, but it can lead to severe illness like difficulty breathing requiring support with breathing.

As of February 7^th, the CDC estimates that there have been 29 million cases this season including my wife and me. There have been more than 370 thousand hospitalizations and 16 thousand deaths from the flu including 68 children.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – February 19, 2025 – There is a surge of respiratory viral infections, like COVID-19, influenza (the flu) and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), during the cold winter months and this is taking place around here in western North Carolina.

The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on February 8^th shows:  

• Less than 2% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 2^nd lowest level of 6 groups, an increase since last week.
• Emergency department visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina, representing a little more than 1% of all visits, stable since last week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID, flu and RSV outbreaks. For the week ending on February 8^th, the COVID-19 wastewater viral activity level for the state is high. The Buncombe & Henderson counties COVID wastewater data for the week ending on February 5^th shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a red level representing the highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 80^th and 100^th percentile relative to the past peak level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has decreased from the previous week, at -9% to 0%, the smallest level of 2 groups for a negative rate of change.

During the week ending on February 8^th, viral activity levels in the North Carolina wastewater were very high for influenza A and moderate for RSV. In Buncombe County, influenza A levels are very high, and RSV levels are high.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on February 1^st indicates that levels are either high or very high in 43 of 47 continental states (with 1 not reporting), particularly in the South, Northeast, MIdwest and the West. North Carolina is at a very high level.

The CDC reports that the weekly percent of positive tests for RSV for the week ending on February 1^st is below 5% in Region 4 (which are the states in the southeast U.S. including North Carolina). It had peaked to more than 15% around Christmas.

The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard for the week ending on February 8^th shows:

• About 20% of all emergency room patients had symptoms of a respiratory viral illness, a decrease from last week.
• Influenza-like symptoms represented more than one-half of these patients
• There were more than 3 thousand hospital admissions from the emergency department in North Carolina for people who had a diagnosis, or symptoms, of respiratory viral infection, an increase since last week. More patients were admitted with the flu than other respiratory disease.

The COVID pandemic has made us aware that we can reduce the spread of respiratory viruses by following specific public health measures, like vaccination, washing hands, staying home when ill, and covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. Therefore, we should take these steps to protect at-risk groups who are susceptible to getting severely ill, children younger than 5, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic medical conditions like heart and lung disease, and the immunocompromised.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, NC – January 31, 2025 – According to a January 31^st email from Buncombe County government to the County Commissioners, a dead waterfowl at Lake Julian Park has tested positive for bird flu (also known as the H5N1 strain of the influenza virus and avian influenza). It is caused by the avian influenza A virus. Seven other deceased waterfowl were found at the park and test results are pending. The park will remain open. Park visitors are encouraged to avoid touching or feeding the birds and should wash their hands regularly. The Buncombe County Parks and the Public Health departments will be working with other state agencies to prevent the spread to humans. People with job-related or outside exposure to infected birds or animals are at a greater risk of getting infected.

The CDC feels that the risk of transmission of the bird flu virus from birds to the public is low. There has been no evidence of spread of this illness from person-to-person. Bird flu can be transmitted from birds to pets, like cats and dogs, and from birds to livestock, like cattle and poultry. It has been detected in wild mammals like bear.

The first U.S. case of bird flu in a human occurred in Louisiana in January this year, according to the CDC. The person was exposed to infected birds. As of January 6^th, there has been 66 confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in the U.S. None have been reported in North Carolina, as of February 4^th.

The best way to prevent getting bird flu is to avoid direct contact with wild birds, sick birds, dead birds and animals infected with the virus. Persons who must have close prolonged contact should wear personal protective equipment like gloves and a face mask. The virus has been found in raw cow’s milk or raw dairy products from dairy cows. Infections in humans can occur when enough virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose, mouth, or is inhaled. Symptoms include cough, fever, muscle aches, sore throat, headache and shortness of breath. Infected people commonly have red, irritated eyes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that bird flu cannot be transmitted through safe handling and properly cooking eggs, chicken and beef to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Eggs, chicken and beef should be refrigerated once brought home from the grocery store.

People should report the presence of many sick or dead birds or dead animals to a park ranger or to the NC Wildlife Helpline at 866-318-2401 or via email at [email protected].

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – February 12, 2025 – There is a surge of respiratory viral infections, like COVID-19, influenza (the flu) and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), during the cold winter months and this is taking place around here in western North Carolina.

The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on February 1^st shows:  

• Less than 2% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 2^nd lowest level of 6 groups, a decrease since last week.
• Emergency department visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina, representing a little more than 1% of all visits, a moderate decrease since last week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID, flu and RSV outbreaks. For the week ending on February 1^st, the COVID-19 wastewater viral activity level for the state is high. The Buncombe & Henderson counties COVID wastewater data for the week ending on January 25^th shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at an orange level representing the 2^nd highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 60^th and 80^th percentile relative to the past peak level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has decreased from the previous week, at -9% to 0%, the smallest level of 2 groups for a negative rate of change.

During the week ending on February 1^st, viral activity levels in the North Carolina wastewater were very high for influenza A and low for RSV. Both were very high in Buncombe County.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on February 1^st indicates that levels are either high or very high in 43 of 47 continental states (with 1 not reporting), particularly in the South, Northeast and the West. North Carolina is at a very high level.

The CDC reports that the weekly percent of positive tests for RSV for the week ending on February 1^st is below 5% in Region 4 (which are the states in the southeast U.S. including North Carolina). It had peaked to more than 15% around Christmas.

The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard for the week ending on February 1^st shows:

• Almost 20% of all emergency room patients had symptoms of a respiratory viral illness, an increase from last week.
• Influenza-like symptoms represented more than one-half of these patients
• There were more than 28 hundred hospital admissions from the emergency department in North Carolina for people who had a diagnosis, or symptoms, of respiratory viral infection, an increase since last week. More patients were admitted with the flu than other respiratory disease.

The COVID pandemic has made us aware that we can reduce the spread of respiratory viruses by following specific public health measures, like vaccination, washing hands, staying home when ill, and covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. Therefore, we should take these steps to protect at-risk groups who are susceptible to getting severely ill, children younger than 5, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic medical conditions like heart and lung disease, and the immunocompromised.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – February 5, 2025 – There is a surge of respiratory viral infections, like COVID-19, influenza (the flu) and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), during the cold winter months and this is taking place around here in western North Carolina.

The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on January 25^th shows:  

• Less than 2% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 2^nd lowest level of 6 groups, an increase since last week.
• Emergency department visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina, representing a little more than 1% of all visits, and are stable since last week.

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID, flu and RSV outbreaks. For the week ending on January 25^th, the COVID-19 wastewater viral activity level for the state is high. The Buncombe & Henderson counties COVID wastewater data for the week ending on January 22^nd shows:

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a red level representing the highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 80^th and 100^th percentile relative to the past peak level measured at the same site.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample has increased from the previous week, at 10% to 99%, the middle level of 3 groups for a positive rate of change.

During the week ending on January 25^th, viral activity levels in the North Carolina wastewater were very high for influenza A and high for RSV. Both were very high in Buncombe County.

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on January 25^th indicates that levels are either high or very high in 41 of 47 continental states (with 1 not reporting), particularly in the South, Northeast, Midwest and the West. North Carolina is at a very high level.

The CDC reports that the weekly percent of positive tests for RSV for the week ending on January 25^th is just above 8% in North Carolina and below 10% in Region 4 (which are the states in the southeast U.S. including North Carolina). The percent of positive tests has decreased in Region 4 to below 10% after the week of January 4^th. It had peaked at more than 15% around Christmas.

The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard for the week ending on January 25^th shows:

• 18% of all emergency room patients had symptoms of a respiratory viral illness, an increase from the previous week.
• Influenza-like symptoms represented more than one-half of these patients, up almost 33% since last week
• There were almost 24 hundred hospital admissions from the emergency department in North Carolina for people who had a diagnosis, or symptoms, of respiratory viral infection, an increase since last week. More patients were admitted with the flu than other respiratory disease.
• ER visits and hospital admissions are at the highest levels since last winter.

There is a surge of respiratory viral infections during the winter months, as people spend more time indoors because it is cold outside and due to an increase in indoor gatherings and travel during the holiday season. However, the COVID pandemic has made us aware that we can reduce the spread of respiratory viruses by following specific public health measures, getting vaccinated, washing hands, staying home if feeling ill, and covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. Other measures include cleaning frequently touched surfaces (like doorknobs and handles) and avoiding people who are sick. Therefore, we should take these steps to protect at-risk groups who are susceptible to getting severely ill, like children younger than 5, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic medical conditions like heart and lung disease, and the immunocompromised.

On January 23^rd, Mission Hospital and its health care system has begun temporary visitor restrictions because of an increase in influenza-like illness in the state and western North Carolina. The restriction will remain in place until the flu activity decreases. To reduce the spread of the flu, all Mission Health hospitals and clinics in western North Carolina will only allow 2 visitors per patient and children under 13 will not be allowed to visit.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour