Hospitals in New Hampshire are seeing a sharp rise in flu cases, on top of other respiratory viruses that continue to circulate.
The past two years saw little flu activity, as COVID-related mitigation measures like masking and social distancing kept influenza and other viruses largely in check compared to typical flu seasons. Before the pandemic, flu killed tens of thousands of Americans each year.
Experts had warned that this flu season would likely be more severe, now that those measures have mostly ended. Many people’s immune systems will also be encountering flu viruses for the first time in several years.
“We've had patients in the intensive care unit with influenza,” said Dr. Aalok Khole, an infectious disease physician at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene. “We have a significant uptick in our inpatients on the floors who have influenza. And we are hearing about quite a bit of flu activity in nearby nursing homes, rehab facilities.”
Khole and other medical providers say the spike in cases is coming earlier than usual in the season, at a time when hospitals are already dealing with other respiratory viruses.
This fall saw a surge of children with respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, that strained hospital capacity. The cold-like infection is typically mild but can cause severe respiratory illness in some infants. COVID-19 also continues to spread, though hospitalizations in New Hampshire remain relatively low.
“The good news is that RSV activity is beginning to decline,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said on a call with health care providers last week. “But influenza is increasing and taking its place.”
He added that it is still early in cold and flu season and “there are many other co-circulating respiratory viruses that can cause severe disease.”
Dr. Matt Dayno, section chief and medical director for emergency medicine at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, said the health system has started to see a decrease in infants sick with RSV, but an increase in adults with flu-like symptoms.
“What we're seeing is just overall a significant surge in patients presenting for health care related to fever and upper respiratory symptoms,” he said.
The Elliot health system’s urgent care clinics are also seeing significantly more people with flu-like symptoms than they were at this point in 2019, the last pre-pandemic flu season, he said.
Khole said it’s too early to say whether hospitals will see another surge of COVID-19 cases this year. But he’s most worried about flu right now, as transmission is increasing, vaccination rates are low and many people haven’t been exposed to the virus recently.
He encouraged people to get vaccinated, wash their hands, wear masks and stay home when sick. He said those steps can help protect themselves and others and prevent a surge that overwhelms the health care system.
“I know everyone is tired, but we really don't want to be reliving what we've gone through in the past two years, albeit with a different virus,” he said.
