(TNS) — The number of new flu cases in Pennsylvania continued climbing during the week ending Saturday, but a sharp rise in RSV cases showed signs of ending.
Pennsylvania registered 5,080 RSV cases for the week, more than 300 fewer than the previous week, according to newly updated figures from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The decline is good news for parents of newborns and toddlers since RSV, although often similar to a cold, sometimes results in hospitalization and even death for very young children.
RSV had been rising sharply in Pennsylvania for nearly two months, reaching a level well above all but one year since the 2017-18 respiratory illness season.
Meanwhile, flu cases continued to rise during the week ending Saturday, with the health department counting nearly 11,000 lab-confirmed cases, up from about 8,300 the previous week.
The lab-confirmed cases reflect only a fraction of actual cases, since most people who get the flu don’t get tested.
The health department noted that emergency department visits resulting from the flu are increasing all over the state and in all age groups. Flu and other respiratory illnesses are often at their worst for several weeks following the Christmas-New Year holidays as the result of viruses spread during holiday gatherings.
Pennsylvania has registered 24 flu-related deaths during the respiratory illness that officially began on Oct. 1.
Emergency department visits involving people who test positive for COVID-19 increased “slightly” during the week ending Saturday, according to the health department.
About 1,100 people who tested positive for COVID-19 were admitted to Pennsylvania hospitals during the week ending Dec. 16, up slightly from the previous week, according to the latest available figures.
It’s the highest number since late January of this year, although less than the 1,454 hospitalizations during the same week a year earlier, according to health department data.
It should be kept in mind the numbers reflect hospital patients who tested positive for COVID-19, although they may have been hospitalized for other reasons, and might not be severely ill because of COVID-19. However, the number is considered a good indicator of the level of COVID-19 within the state and in local communities.
The vast majority of the hospitalizations, about 12 per 100,000 state residents, involve people over age 70, according to tracking by The New York Times. People under 60 account for about 1 hospitalization per 100,000 people.
As of Dec. 8, about 10% of the patients with COVID-19 were receiving intensive care — 129 across the state — according to The New York Times. The figure, which was the latest available as of early Wednesday, has been holding steady since early fall. It’s slightly less than the number, 184, who were in intensive care with COVID-19 during the same week a year ago.
As of Saturday, Pennsylvania had registered 837 COVID-19-related deaths since Oct. 1, an increase of 88 since the previous week, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
