By Molly Goddard
12:11pm PST, Jan 15, 2025
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Sickness is at an all-time high in the United States this winter.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are four major viruses infecting millions of Americans. COVID-19, influenza, RSV and
norovirus are currently creating what experts call a "quad-demic" with record-high cases.
With people gathering indoors due to the colder temperatures, bigger influx of ill patients in hospitals is putting a strain on healthcare workers.
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"It [has] a huge impact, not just on the individual who's sick, but on the community," assistant professor of medicine and hospital epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center,
Geeta Sood, MD, ScM, explained in an interview with
Health. "The entire
healthcare system can be impacted when you have high rates of all of these infections at the same time," she pointed out.
Here are the four viruses you should be aware of this winter…
COVID-19
Unfortunately, we did not leave
COVID-19 in 2020.
Shira Doron, MD, chief infection control officer for Tufts Medicine and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center, claimed that the infamous virus continues to infect the public due to dry and cold conditions.
The first week in January 2025 saw
COVID accounting for 1.3 percent of emergency department visits in America. However, Doron said the rates have appeared to have reached a plateau.
Influenza (The Flu)
The traditional flu has continued to intensify over the past few weeks. Per the CDC, numerous states are currently seeing high or very high levels of influenza. We have a long way to go, as Doron claimed we won't see a drop in rates until February.
According to the statistics, the flu was the cause of 4.8 percent of
emergency doctor visits during the start of the year.
Norovirus
Norovirus cases are skyrocketing this winter. "Norovirus is experiencing a relatively high year," Doron explained. "It's not a terrible outlier, but it's not a good year for norovirus."
According to reports, from August 1 to December 11, 2024, the United States experienced 495 norovirus outbreaks. However, Doron thinks the numbers will grow due to the virus' passing symptoms.
"You can't treat norovirus, so you're not really trying very hard to find it," she added. "It is the most common cause of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, so you're just going to generally manage it symptomatically and with hydration."
RSV
On a positive note, Doron believes RSV has peaked for the 2024-2025 season. The
illness, which is a respiratory syncytial virus, accounted for only 0.9 percent of hospital visits this winter.
"These respiratory infections and norovirus are inevitable. Everyone's going to come in contact with them. You can run, but you can't hide from them," Doron continued. "The best way to protect yourself is to be really healthy when you do get a cold."
