Posted on 10/25/22
| News Source: Pikesville Patch
Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, a cold-like illness that can cause breathing difficulties in young children, is having an increased impact in Maryland and across the country. Infectious disease experts are monitoring trends of RSV, along with COVID-19 and the flu as winter approaches.
Nationally, some 7,334 RSV tests came back positive for the week ending Oct. 15, up from 6,518 the week before that and 5,210 the week before that, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In Maryland, the five-week average for RSV detections climbed to 59.7 as of Oct. 15, up from a five-week average of 14.0 detections at the start of September, according to CDC data.
For influenza, Maryland had reached the "moderate" level by Oct. 15, the CDC reported. Virginia was in the upper "moderate" level for influenza as of Oct. 15, while the District of Columbia was in the "very high" stage.
As of Monday, the seven-day positive rate for COVID-19 in Maryland was 6.73 percent, up from the 2022 low of 1.43 percent on March 21, but down from the 2022 high of 13.05 percent on Aug. 3. For hospitalizations, 459 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Maryland on Monday, an increase of 14 patients from Sunday, according to the Maryland Department of Health.