Cases of respiratory illness are surging in the Chattanooga region following the holidays, as area hospitals Friday reported an increase in influenza, COVID-19 and RSV through the end of December into January.
Dr. Mark Anderson, an infectious disease specialist at CHI Memorial, said Friday the number of people coming into the emergency department with what appears to be a respiratory virus has gone up 30% in the time since Christmas.
"We are seeing influenza, RSV and COVID-19 — all three in pretty significant numbers," Anderson said via email, noting the level of illness appears more concentrated and higher than it was this time last year.
"More people are getting infected, and people are getting sicker to the point they need to be admitted just from that infection or some complication," he said.
According to the hospital's cardiologists, many people with acute arrhythmia — or dangerous rhythm — problems have been infected with either influenza or COVID-19 in the past week or so, Anderson said.
"So we're seeing a lot of complications," he said. "The person might not have needed to be admitted just from the infection, but it caused some complication, particularly in the elderly, that did lead to admission."
Unlike previous peaks of flu, RSV and COVID-19, which tended to occur individually, Anderson said multiple viruses circulating at high levels at once are responsible for the current wave — which he attributes to holiday gatherings.
"COVID seems to be getting more seasonal now in that we are seeing more of it in the wintertime," he said.
On the other hand, the increase in RSV cases could be due to better testing, which was rarely conducted in adults prior to the pandemic.
"I don't know that we're seeing more RSV this year than in the past or if it's that we can diagnose it more accurately," Anderson said, but RSV is "definitely making people sick, particularly over the age of 70, and putting them in the hospital and giving them life-threatening infections."
(READ MORE: Just in time for the holidays, COVID-19, flu, RSV make their return)
On Jan. 11, 2023, CHI Memorial logged seven influenza patients, 12 COVID-19 patients and one RSV patient. As of Friday, the hospital was treating 27 patients hospitalized with the flu, 26 with COVID-19 and 17 with RSV, according to data from CHI Memorial.
Paul Tucker, a spokesperson for Parkridge Health System, said Parkridge is also seeing its number of patients with influenza, COVID-19, RSV and pneumonia increase, while Dr. Jensen Hyde, chief medical officer at Erlanger Health, reported a similar scenario on both the adult and children's side of Erlanger.
"This creates additional strain on the health care system, particularly the emergency department," Hyde said via emailed statement.
While the wave of sick people is keeping hospitals busy, Anderson said it's not to the point of overly stressing the system.
None of Chattanooga's hospitals are requiring face masks, as some hospitals in other areas of the U.S. are, but Anderson said it's reasonable to mask in public — particularly around strangers and in large gatherings.
It's also not too late to get vaccinated, which he said remains one of the best protections.
"These viruses are probably going to be around for weeks and on into the spring," he said. "We have vaccines for all three of the things we've talked about — influenza, COVID, and this year for the first time, RSV. Those are all great vaccines."
Data from the Hamilton County Health Department shows 51 COVID-19 patients in Chattanooga hospitals, including nine in intensive care, as of Thursday.
Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama are listed among the nine states experiencing "very high" influenza-like illness activity, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Contact Elizabeth Fite at efite@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6673.