10 News’ “What’s Going Around” looks at trending health topics and local respiratory virus data in the Roanoke region and across Virginia. Thanks to a partnership with Johns Hopkins University and the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation, the station can show localized disease data for the community.
It has been a busy week for public health officials, with seasonal COVID-19 activity beginning to climb, a major Cyclospora outbreak update and a new Salmonella outbreak linked to jalapeño peppers across the U.S.
COVID-19 activity beginning to rise
Nationally, fewer than 1 percent of emergency department visits are for COVID-19, but most states are beginning to see an increase in activity, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Health Security. Health officials say the rise is not unusual. COVID-19 activity commonly climbs in late summer and early fall.
Respiratory illness activity across Virginia remains minimal, but COVID-19 is starting to tick upward. Virginia reported 6.7 percent of emergency department visits were for respiratory illness as of Aug. 1, a slight decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the previous week’s 6.9 percent, according to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH)…