If you’re feeling under the weather but brushing it off as just a cold, you might consider taking a flu test. As a “quad-demic” of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses circulates—flu, COVID, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and norovirus—seasonal influenza (not to be confused with bird flu) is the worst it’s been nationwide in nearly 30 years.
That is, in terms of the percentage of outpatient and emergency department visits involving patients with influenza-like illness (ILI). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports data in calendar weeks. During week five of this year, the week ended Feb. 1, ILI patients accounted for 7.8% of outpatient visits—the highest percentage recorded among data going back to the 1997–98 flu season. Previously, activity had been highest (7.7%) the week ended Oct. 24, 2009, during the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
