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The weekly COVID-19, flu & RSV update

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ASHEVILLE, NC – January 22, 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.

The CDC’s COVID Dashboard for the week ending on January 11th shows:  

  • Fewer than 2% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 2nd 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. The Buncombe & Henderson counties COVID wastewater data for the week ending on January 8th shows:

  • The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at an orange level representing the 2nd highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 60th and 80th 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 was not reported this week.

During the week ending on January 11th, viral activity levels in the North Carolina wastewater were very high for influenza A and RSV (including in Buncombe County).

The CDC’s weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending on January 11th indicates that levels are either high or very high in 42 of the 48 continental states, particularly in the South and the West. North Carolina is at a high level.

The CDC reports that the weekly percent of positive tests for RSV for the week ending on January 4th is 16% in North Carolina and 15% in Region 4 (which are the states in the southeast U.S. including North Carolina). Region 4 had climbed to more than 10% from mid-November to the present, reaching a peak of more than 15% around Christmas, the highest levels since last winter.

The weekly North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard for the week ending on January 11th shows:

  • 13% of all emergency room patients had symptoms of a respiratory viral illness, a decrease since last week.
  • There were almost 2 thousand hospital admissions from the emergency department in North Carolina for people who had a diagnosis, or symptoms, of respiratory viral infection, fewer since last week.
  • Both are at the highest levels since last winter.

There is a surge of respiratory viral infections during the cold winter months, as people spend more time indoors 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 take steps to reduce spreading respiratory viruses. Therefore, we must protect at-risk groups, like older adults and the immunocompromised, who remain susceptible to getting severely ill.

 

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

The Griffin List

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For weeks on the AFM News Hour, we have followed the ongoing story of Jefferson Griffin’s lawsuit challenging ballots across all 100 North Carolina counties. Griffin lost by 734 votes his bid to become a North Carolina Supreme Court justice.

Griffin, a Republican Court of Appeals judge, has argued that the ballots of nearly 60,000 overseas and military voters, and other registered voters should be nullified based on technicalities.

This week TheGriffinList.com launched. The new website, searchable by name and county, can help over 60,000 registered voters see if their November ballot is among those being contested.

The free tool also allows voters to access contact information for their county Board of Elections and learn how to verify and update their voter registration information. Voters who find their names on the list are encouraged to contact their county Board of Elections to understand why their ID numbers may be missing from records and to ensure their votes are properly counted.

Buncombe County alone has 1,578 voters whose ballots are in question. To see if your name is on the list, or to help a neighbor, colleague, friend, or acquaintance find out if their name is listed, visit TheGriffinList.com.


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Hellbenders and the Health of Mills River

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Patryk Battle sat down this week with Maria Wise, executive director of the Mills River Partnership. They discussed the health of the Mills River riparian system post-Helene.

Maria explained that parts of the river are still beautiful and look nearly unaffected by the storm. Other parts, just a few hundred feet away from the untouched riverbanks, are “areas of near-total devastation.” She considers this to mean that the riverbanks have no riparian buffer left. Maria said that farm fields by the river have lost 90% of their topsoil. The destruction will need “years and years of recovery to come.”

Patryk asked Maria about one species in particular that contributes to the health and vitality of the riparian system: the hellbender salamander. Noting that the hellbender is an amazing sight as the largest salamander in North America, Patryk feared that this precarious population might be wiped out. Maria confirmed that the Mills River Partnership has been seeking stories of sightings to track the hellbenders. The Forest Service Pisgah Rangers recently told the Partnership of finding 43 hellbenders—an encouraging sign! But Maria guesses that about 75% of the Mills River hellbender population has been wiped out. Patryk and Maria discussed some advantages of the hellbender being put on the endangered species list, as well as some upcoming volunteer days to help revegetate the riparian areas of the Mills River. To learn more about helping, visit the Mills River Partnership’s website or listen to the full interview in the archives.


More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

Drinking alcohol can increase your cancer risk, will warning labels make any difference?

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WASHINGTON, DC – January 2025 – This month, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has recommended that Congress require that alcohol beverages have a health warning label to inform consumers about an association between alcohol consumption and the risk of cancer. Alcohol beverages already have a Congress-mandated warning label. However, there is no warning about increasing cancer risk. There is conclusive medical and scientific evidence that 7 cancers are linked to drinking alcohol. They can occur in the breast, colorectal, esophagus, liver, mouth, throat and voice box (larynx).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required health warnings on certain consumer products (cigarettes and alcohol) to promote a greater public understanding of the adverse health effects of using these products. Any creation, changes or additions to the warning labels required Congressional approval.

According to the Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act of 1988, a health warning label must appear on all alcohol beverages for sale or distribution in the U.S. containing not less than 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume. The warning has 2 messages: “1) According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery, and may cause health problems.”

Alcohol consumption is one of the leading preventable causes of cancer. It is responsible for about 100 thousand new cancers and 20 thousand cancer deaths in the U.S. every year.

Health warning labels can increase the public awareness of hazardous products (like cigarettes and other tobacco products) and effect a change in personal behavior. This has been shown to include alcohol-related risks. Warning labels on alcohol beverages in Canada have already shown that Canadians are generally more aware of the increased risk of cancer with drinking.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

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


More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

Asheville Kittens

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On this week’s AFM News Hour, news correspondent KP Whaley sat down with Andee Bingham, founder and director of the Esther Neonatal Kitten Alliance, to learn about the Alliance’s work in our community and their response to helping kittens in the wake of Helene. Andee first moved to NC from the Northeast, where kitten needs are much different. She saw that there was a need here to help kittens, particularly newborn and critically injured ones.

Andee discussed many of the challenges that animal rescue organizations face, including lack of experience, supplies, and training. She found that there was a need for these kittens beyond what typical rescues could offer. This is how Andee found herself beginning the Kitten Alliance. Their goal is to take in kittens that require a level of care that other shelters cannot provide. About 80% of the animals the Kitten Alliance takes in each year are either too young (under 5 weeks old) for traditional shelters or are too sick or injured. Andee said that, even though most of their animals arrive “pretty close to dead,” the Alliance saves about 89% of them. 

Lastly, Andee shared some strategies for how to help kittens in need. She also told a couple of heartwarming stories of cats and kittens. If you love kittens, or even if you’re a dog person like KP, give Andee’s stories a listen in the archives, and visit the Kitten Alliance website for more information.


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