Quad-demic
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The spread of influenza A, COVID and RSV is "high" or "very high" across much of the U.S. at the same time norovirus cases are well above normal levels, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and wastewater surveillance data shows.
Why it matters: The result is "quad-demic" of illness hitting simultaneously in what's shaping up to be a more active virus season than last year.
The big picture: The simultaneous threats are straining some hospitals to capacity and leading administrators to recommend masking among staff, ABC News reports.
- The surge follows what was a slow start to the respiratory virus season.
- "Predictions for this respiratory virus season were that we would see peak January 1 and that it would likely mirror previous respiratory virus seasons. We're obviously seeing it peak a little bit later," Saskia Popescu, a member of APIC's Emerging Infectious Diseases Task Force, told Axios.
Zoom in: Flu activity is high in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, according to the CDC tracking of outpatient visits to health care providers for influenza-like illness.