What You Need To Know
Attached please find this week’s Respiratory Illness Surveillance Report which summarizes surveillance information for COVID-19, influenza, RSV, and other respiratory illnesses.
Report highlights:
- Emergency department visits and admissions continue to rise for influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, with influenza showing the sharpest increase.
- The majority of emergency department visits that resulted in admissions associated with COVID-19 and influenza have been reported in persons 65 years and older, and with RSV, have been reported in persons aged 0-4 years and 65 years and older.
- Test positivity remains elevated for influenza, RSV, parainfluenza, and rhinovirus/enterovirus.
- Wastewater viral activity for influenza A is at low and continues to increase. Wastewater viral activity for COVID-19 and RSV are very low.
- The predominant COVID-19 variant in circulation is XFG, a subvariant of Omicron covered by COVID-19 vaccines.
- Respiratory outbreaks recently reported in long-term care facilities are due to COVID-19 and influenza, while those in schools are primarily due to influenza.
Please contact the Communicable Disease Service at 609-826-5964 with questions. This report is posted at https://www.nj.gov/health/respiratory-viruses/data-and-reports/.
For additional information, visit the NJDOH CDS Respiratory Illness Dashboard and the NJDOH CDS Vaccination Coverage in NJ LTC Facilities Dashboard.