Respiratory illnesses on the rise in county

FINDLAY — Respiratory illnesses are on the rise in Hancock County and throughout Ohio. Hannah Plumley, epidemiologist with Hancock Public Health, presented to the Board of Health at its Friday meeting. State and national tracking of these illnesses is less detailed than it was in previous years, she said. For example, the Ohio Department of Health used to report county-level data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and that's no longer the case. The health department does get local data from wastewater surveillance, which Plumley said is an early indicator, as people may shed viral fragments in their stool before they show symptoms. Based on this data, influenza activity is high and increasing, and COVID-19 is high and steady. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity is low. In Hancock County, respiratory complaints have accounted for half of all acute care visits in recent weeks, Plumley said. The CDC does offer national maps showing flu activity level in each state. Flu activity in both Ohio and Michigan was "very high" in the latest week for which numbers are available. Statewide, Ohio saw 1,911 flu hospitalizations for the week ending Jan. 3. There were 1,305 hospitalizations during this same week last year. This year's dominant flu strain, a type of Influenza A, emerged late. Plumley noted that flu vaccines are developed each year based on what scientists believe will be the most common strain. They make this prediction based on trends they are seeing in other parts of the world (such as the southern hemisphere, which experienced winter flu season during North America's summer), but sometimes these predictions aren't what actually happens. This year, the flu vaccine is not as close a match as they had hoped, but vaccines do still offer partial protection, Plumley said. "People are still being hospitalized for COVID," Plumley noted. In Ohio, this has recently included several children, the youngest 3 weeks old. Vaccine uptake has been decreasing since the 2020-21 season. One estimate found that 37.5% of Ohio's children and 41.3% of adults have received flu shots this year. The CDC has reported the top concern keeping people from getting COVID-19 vaccines included "possible serious or unknown side effects". For flu vaccines, the top concern was that the individual was "not concerned about getting the flu." For RSV vaccines among high-risk adults ages 50-74, reported concerns included "don't know enough about RSV or the vaccine", "no provider recommendation" and "possible serious or unknown side effects." RSV causes mild symptoms, like a cold, for many of the people infected with it, but can become more serious, especially in infants and older people. An RSV vaccine for adults came out in 2023. Some people said they did not get vaccinated simply because they hadn't gotten around to it, or were unsure where to get it. Some adults said nothing would motivate them to get vaccinated: 30% for COVID-19 and flu vaccines and 18% for flu shots. Plumley noted that the most common reason people gave for choosing to get vaccinated was to protect themselves. Hancock Public Health has created a dashboard that is sent to healthcare providers each week, as well as one geared toward the public that is posted on social media. Plumley said they are sharing the local data they have, as well as CDC respiratory illness data for the state of Ohio. (In many cases, the statistics track "respiratory illness" as a general category, which may include influenza, RSV or COVID-19. This is because not everyone gets tested for specific illnesses, so public health professionals keep track of how often certain types of symptoms are reported.) Plumley said that so far, the information on Facebook has been well received. "Respiratory illnesses can cause serious illness and death in some people," Plumley concluded. "We've seen three pediatric flu deaths in Ohio in just the last month. Two of those… were up in Lucas County this week." The Ohio children who died of the flu included two teenagers and a child under the age of six. Dr. Cheryl Huffman, a board member and a pediatrician, said even previously healthy children can die of the flu. She also mentioned there have been more cases of children getting myositis (muscle inflammation) after the flu. Plumley said vaccination is the best protection against serious illness for flu, COVID-19 and RSV, and vaccines remain available. She also encouraged people to follow other prevention strategies including staying home when sick, washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, wearing masks when appropriate, cleaning and disinfecting the home and refraining from touching the face. Prioritizing general wellness – including adequate sleep, a healthy diet and managing stress well – can also help prevent illness, she said.