2023-12-06 02:18:00
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) — The United States is seeing an increase in flu and COVID-19 cases across the country, with an increase in respiratory illnesses, especially among young children.
A growing number of people have tested positive for COVID and been admitted to hospital with severe symptoms.
According to the data, about 10% of COVID-19 tests reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came back positive in the last week ending November 25.
Emergency department visits diagnosed with COVID-19 increased by more than 10% in the past week compared to the previous week.
COVID hospital admissions reached nearly 20,000 in the week ending Nov. 25, representing a 10% increase, according to CDC data.
Among respiratory diseases, COVID continues to cause the highest number of hospitalizations and deaths, at approximately 15,000 hospitalizations and 1,000 deaths per week, reported Mandy Cohen, director of the CDC.
Flu rates have been increasing, with a 6% test positivity rate nationally and 4,268 hospitalizations for the week ending Nov. 25, according to CDC data.
Eight children have died from flu-related causes since the start of the season, as have about 1,100 adults, according to the CDC’s latest flu summary.
Seasonal flu activity continued to increase in most parts of the country, including the South Central, Southeast, Mountain and West Coast regions, the CDC said in a weekly report.
Emergency room visits and hospitalizations caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have continued to increase across the country.
Hospitalization rates associated with RSV have remained high among young children and have increased among older adults, according to the CDC.
RSV is a highly contagious virus that causes lung and respiratory tract infections in people of all ages.
In older adults, RSV is a common cause of lower respiratory illness, which affects the lungs and can cause life-threatening pneumonia and bronchiolitis, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The CDC is monitoring the increase in recently reported respiratory illnesses in children, including potentially high rates of pediatric pneumonia in some areas of the United States.
The agency recommends that people aged six months and older get both the flu and COVID vaccines to protect against the most severe effects of the fall and winter viruses on health. END
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