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, healthyasheville@ashevillefm.org