As an infection prevention professional, you need to be at the forefront of dealing with the ‘quad-demic’ that is currently bombarding the United States. According to the latest reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a simultaneous rise in the occurrence of three respiratory pathogens, COVID-19, flu, and RSVand, alongside the gastrointestinal disease norovirus, is constituting a daunting public health challenge.h
The CDC alerts to the marked uptick in these viruses, reflected in ‘high’, ‘very high’, and ‘elevated’ emergency department visits for flu, RSVand, and COVID-19, respectively. Furthermore, significance is lent by the week ending Jan. 4 revealing positivity rates of 18.6% in influenza tests, 11.6% in RSV tests, and 6.9% in COVID screenings, thereby highlighting the seriousness of the situation. A staggering number of 27.91% of norovirus tests also turned out positive during the same period, revealing an alarming trend unseen since 2019.
While this surge is not entirely unexpected, given the winter months’ predisposition to such viral increase, according to Dr. Scott Roberts, medical director of infection prevention at Yale New Haven Health, the rate of increase is especially disconcerting. With hospitals operating near full capacity, patients are often subject to prolonged waits before getting emergency services, thereby putting additional stress on already overstretched healthcare systems.
Despite the challenges, it’s important to note that while many hospitals are reaching their occupancy limits, not all patients admitted are those suffering from the respiratory illnesses plaguing the nation. Dr. Matthew Sims, director of infectious disease research for Corewell Health based in Michigan, stresses the need for patients to consider other alternatives such as virtual visits with health care professionals or urgent care centers, before resorting to a hospital visit.
More atypically, the incidence of norovirus is seen to peak concurrently with the prominence of the respiratory viruses. A new strain of norovirus appears to outcompete other strains roughly every few years. Despite familiarity with norovirus’ cyclic behavior, the current strain seems to be unusually virulent with an above-average number of cases recorded.
Hospitals have established proactive measures to prevent the viruses from spreading within their premises. These include urging both staff and visitors to wear masks around patient care areas and implementing visitor age restrictions. Various other metrics inform the decision for these preventive measures, such as the status of existing hospital resources, community respiratory viral test positivity rates, and staffing logistics.
The lack of a vaccine against norovirus and low vaccination coverage against the other three viruses pose a significant concern as this could strain the healthcare system’s ability to treat patients effectively. CDC data reveals a mere 43.4% of adults have received the flu vaccine, only 22.8% with the latest COVID-19 vaccine, and 44.5% of adults 75 and older have been vaccinated against RSV. These figures underscore the urgent need to boost vaccine coverage, reminding us that prevention through vaccination remains an indispensable weapon in our disease prevention toolbox.
Source: https://abc11.com/post/what-know-quad-demic-covid-flu-rsv-norovirus/15809368/