NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nashville doctors have spent the past couple weeks in packed hospitals where the number of people experiencing cold, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) symptoms has soared.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that for the week ending on Dec. 21, reports of respiratory illness with fever and a cough or sore throat were “very high” in Tennessee. News 2 spoke with some area doctors who said the rates haven’t seemed to come down, either.
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Associate professor of pediatrics and pediatrics emergency physician at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, Dr. Marla Levine, told News 2 that the emergency department saw a sharp increase in volume in a short period of time. According to Tennessee’s Health Department, reports of flu-like illness tracked lower than last season, but higher than the 2022-2023 season or the 2021-2022 season.
“Being indoors and around a lot of people can lead to more viral spread,” VUMC professor of medicine, Dr. Todd Rice, said.