The holiday season may be winding down, but flu cases are on the rise.
Between Dec. 8-14, Clark County recorded 27.01 percent flu positivity of the 748 people tested. The previous week’s positivity rate was 17.54 percent of the 496 people tested.
During the last week of November, the positivity rate was only 8.11 percent.
Clark County Public Health partners with various laboratories to collect data on flu cases throughout the county. The positivity rate is the percent of influenza tests conducted by reporting laboratories with positive results, according to Public Health.
Influenza positivity at or more than 10 percent is considered elevated influenza activity, according to Public Health. The period of high activity is considered over when that number drops below 10 percent for two weeks in a row.
When someone tests positive for COVID-19, providers are required to send that positive test to the lab. However, the same protocol is not required for the flu, Public Health spokeswoman Marissa Armstrong said.
“For us to be able to understand flu positivity, we partner with labs in the county who send us all their tests and results,” Armstrong said. “This is more of a surveillance, but it is not precise. It’s really just to give us a sense of what’s happening in the county.”
Preliminary data for the week of Dec. 15-21 shows the positivity rate has increased to 35 percent of 976 people tested, Armstrong said.
Influenza activity in Clark County was inconsistently elevated for 15 weeks during the 2023-2024 flu season, according to the Clark County Influenza Season Summary.
Although Public Health cannot predict whether respiratory illness rates will increase, decrease or stay the same, in previous years, influenza season has stretched into the spring. COVID-19 can spike at different times of the year when new variants emerge.
“It really varies year to year. The holidays also make it a little tricky because labs have closures on certain days. In previous years, flu activity has lasted into April or May,” Armstrong said.
Other respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, are continuing to circulate throughout Clark County.
Between Dec. 15-21, COVID-19 accounted for 0.4 percent of total hospitalizations, according to Public Health. During that same week, RSV accounted for 0.1 percent of total hospitalizations. There were four deaths due to COVID-19 in October and one in November.
According to Public Health, the respiratory disease season starts in October and ends in September of the following year.
As the winter continues, Public Health encourages people to take precautions against respiratory illness as youth return to school by getting vaccinated, staying home when sick and considering wearing a mask in crowded areas.
“The best protection is going to be getting vaccinated,” Armstrong said. “Then, it’s the things we always talk about: If you’re sick, or if your children are sick, stay home. Cover your coughs and sneezes. Get good sleep and get exercise.”