SANTA CRUZ – Health officials say respiratory illness cases are surging in Santa Cruz County and are urging the public not to visit their local emergency department if they are experiencing a relatively mild infection. says.
Colder months are known to sniffle, but experts say this winter, flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19 are at risk of simultaneously raising their ugly heads in unseasonable numbers. It warns of a “triple disease” scenario.
A local emergency room has been affected by an influx of patients with non-serious respiratory illnesses, according to a release from the county health services agency. It can lead to delays for patients experiencing emergencies and can deplete limited resources such as hospital staff, test kits and therapeutics.
Fortunately, most people who contract these viruses do not require emergency treatment and can recover at home or with the help of their primary care physician.
However, people with severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing, severe chest pain, severe weakness, high fever for days on end, and young children with shortness of breath should consider seeking urgent care.
Examples of mild or moderate symptoms likely to be appropriate for outpatient primary care are sore throat, cough, runny nose, and body aches.
“The best defense against severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19 or flu is to get vaccinated and boosted. If you haven’t been vaccinated or boosted, do it now.” Santa Cruz County Deputy Health Officer David Giralducci said in a release. do it for
No vaccine is currently available for RSV, although effective treatments are available and infections are often mild, according to county health officer Gail Newell.
Newel recently told Sentinel that most people get RSV before the age of two, but recent COVID-19 public health measures have prevented many young children from contracting the common virus. This has led to a larger cohort of children who are unintentionally susceptible to RSV, resulting in an unusually high level of spread this year.
Newel also expressed concern about the county’s low uptake of new bivalent boosters developed with new strains of the virus. vaccine dashboardonly 53,610 or 25.6% of eligible county residents are receiving bivalent boosters.
COVID-19 levels are also rising in South County, according to local sources. Wastewater data, can detect genes commonly associated with viruses. As of November 27, South County had 169,977 copies of the gene per gram. Meanwhile, North county figures remain relatively low after briefly rising earlier in the month.
COVID in numbers
Fatalities: 275.
Hospitalized: 37.
South County Wastewater, Nov. 27: 169,977 copies/g.
North County Wastewater, Nov. 27: 65,608 copies/g.
