Posted on 02/02/25
| News Source: Pikesville Patch
Baltimore, MD - Feb. 2, 2025 - Public health officials are warning that a “quad-demic” — a contagious combination of COVID-19, influenza, RSV and the nasty stomach bug norovirus — is putting pressure on Maryland emergency rooms and hospitals.
Several deaths have been caused by the high flu spread, state officials said.
Respiratory viruses are at high or very high levels across most of the country, according to the latest surveillance report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency said in an update Friday that nationally, wastewater surveillance shows viral activity is high for influenza A and moderate for RSV.
COVID-19 levels are low, but coupled with norovirus, offer a quadruple threat.
Norovirus data from public health laboratories from around the country tallied by the CDC shows that Midwest states from Kansas to Michigan are the hardest hit by the highly contagious stomach bug, whose symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea. Norovirus positivity test levels in all regions of the country are as high or higher than last season’s peak nationwide.
Here’s the situation in Maryland:
Influenza activity: High, including 1,695 hospital visits associated with the flu, six adult deaths from the flu and one pediatric death as of Jan. 18, according to Maryland health officials.
RSV activity: High, including 168 hospital visits associated with RSV in the second week of January, according to Maryland health officials.
COVID-19 activity: High, hospitalization rates are low, with less than 10 per 100,000 patients, according to the Maryland Department of Health. One death was confirmed so far the week of Jan. 27.
Norovirus: The state does not track norovirus cases.
Dr. James Campbell, infectious disease pediatrician at the University of Maryland Children's Hospital, told WMAR that the highly contagious norovirus typically causes a day or two of vomiting and diarrhea.
"It tends to come mostly in the winter. It’s primarily because—probably—people are in closed spaces, so they have more contact with each other,” Campbell said.
In its most recent update on respiratory viruses, the CDC said COVID predictions for the next two weeks suggest that emergency department visits will remain at a lower level compared to prior winter seasons. Influenza predictions suggest that emergency department visits will be high and will increase in most states.