Flu, COVID-19, and RSV cases are higher than they were in the summer months, but this is a normal seasonal trend for respiratory diseases. Public health experts expect hospitalizations for these three diseases to be lower or similar to last year.

Vaccines can help prevent severe respiratory diseases, and the COVID-19 and Flu vaccines are available at most pharmacies. The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older get the flu and COVID-19 vaccines with some rare exceptions. RSV vaccines are recommended for adults ages 75 and older, or those 65-74 at an increased risk of disease.

Over the counter medications such as nasal sprays with phenylephrine can help reduce a stuffy nose (congestion), but medications taken by mouth (oral) with phenylephrine are not effective.

If you feel sick or start having symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache, stay home and away from others for 24 hours or until you no longer have a fever and your other symptoms are improving.

Respiratory disease cases vary locally. Some states get outbreaks at different times than others.

Sometimes respiratory disease case data is not available in real time.

A CDC norovirus monitoring program in 14 states shows higher than usual norovirus levels for this time of year. During the first week of the New Year’s holiday, nearly 28% of norovirus tests returned positive, more than double the 13.52% peak positivity rate seen in March 2024.

A CDC norovirus monitoring program in 14 states shows higher than usual norovirus levels for this time of year. During the first week of January, about 28% of tests were positive for norovirus, which was double the 14% test positivity rate seen in March 2024.

Norovirus is highly contagious, and human immunity to norovirus doesn’t last very long – 6 months to 2 years -- after someone gets sick. The virus can have genetic variations every year which makes it more likely people who had it before could get sick again.  For these reasons, it is not unusual for norovirus cases to be higher than usual in some years.

People can be contagious with norovirus before they get sick or after they start to feel better. It is important to continue to limit contact with others at least 2 days after symptoms stop to avoid spreading the virus.

People can also get the virus from contaminated food like oysters, shellfish, and leafy greens. To help prevent getting norovirus from contaminated food, cook shellfish and oysters to a temperature of 145 degrees, wash fruits and vegetables, and disinfect surfaces that unwashed produce or raw shellfish have touched.

There is not enough data to tell if the norovirus illnesses are more severe this year, and more data is needed to confirm if a different strain of norovirus is causing the increase in cases.

“Walking pneumonia” is a form of mild pneumonia often caused by the bacteria M. pneumoniae. It is called “walking pneumonia” because people may seem better than expected for someone with a lung infection.

The respiratory disease is spread through inhaling droplets after someone coughs, sneezes, or talks. It can also be spread by touching a contaminated surface then touching your eyes, mouth or nose.

The cases of pneumonia caused by M. pneumoniae have increased over the past six months among all age groups but highest among children 2-4 years. This increase is notable for young children because pneumoniae in this age group was historically not caused by M. pneumoniae and the bacteria typically affected school aged children and young adults.

M. pneumoniae infections are typically mild, but can lead to severe complications in some cases. Preventative measures for walking pneumonia are the same as other respiratory viruses and include washing hands often and covering coughs and sneezes.

Researchers are still learning why the rates of M. pneumoniae increased in young children when it has historically been seen mainly in school aged children and young adults.

Currently, there is no vaccine available to prevent M. pneumoniae infection, but research is ongoing.