Influenza, RSV, COVID-19 and norovirus have all seen heightened activity in Louisville and around the U.S. this winter, health officials say, as a so-called “quademic” looms.
A surge in respiratory illness is typical for this time of year, and the simultaneous outbreak of highly contagious norovirus is piling on to the public health risk. Commonly known as stomach flu, norovirus symptoms often include diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain.
Unlike COVID-19, RSV and influenza, there is no vaccine for norovirus, and “it’s really hard to kill,” Dr. Mark Burns, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Louisville, said in a Thursday press briefing. A genetic change, or variant, in the virus is likely to blame for its current spread, he added…