Howell County, MO. – After talking to the health department, here is an update for the individuals residing in Missouri to be aware of what sicknesses are passing through the area.
As everyone is aware February through March is the time for respiratory illnesses. This includes COVID, the flu, and RSV.
The COVID-19 hospital admission levels are at a low rate. To keep in touch with the levels in your county you can visit, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. To prevent contracting this disease you can stay out of contact with people who are sick and if you are sick don’t spread to others and stay in isolation until you are better.
Flu counts in Missouri are very high right now, but we have seen higher in Howell County. The weekly percent of positivity for the flu is at 21.1%. The weekly total number of flu cases is steady at around 6,578. To stay updated on the flu report you can visit, https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/influenza/dashboard.php.
The last illness circulating as March reaches its peak is RSV. RSV is just a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. RSV is usually a mild illness that you can get rid of in about 1-2 weeks but it can be serious in infants and older individuals. Right now there has been a total of 3276.500 PCR/RSV tests and at total percentage out of those tests that are positive is 3.996%. You can keep track of these numbers at, https://www.cdc.gov/surveillance/nrevss/rsv/state.html#MO
Handwashing and keeping distance from those you know to be sick is still the number one way to prevent contracting any sort of illness. For some CDC guidance for avoiding the above illnesses, visit https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/index.html.
