With harsh winters and flu season in full swing, the latest North Carolina Respiratory Virus Dashboard shows respiratory illnesses are on the rise in the state, led by cases of respiratory syncytial virus.

What You Need To Know

  • Hospitalizations for respiratory viruses in North Carolina increased in the past week

  • There are more positive RSV tests than flu in North Carolina

  • The NCDHHS is encouraging residents to stay up-to-date with their vaccinations and take precautions against illnesses

This dashboard tracks hospitalizations, emergency room visits and lab-confirmed cases of RSV, flu and COVID-19. In the last week of 2024, the most recent data, 13.6% of emergency room visits had symptoms of a respiratory virus. This is a slight increase from 11.6% the week before.

The dashboard shows there were 1,727 hospitalizations for respiratory symptoms as of Dec. 28. That's up from Dec. 21, when there were 1,529 hospitalizations.

According to the dashboard, RSV accounts for the most positive tests across labs in North Carolina with 1,573. However, influenza comes in a close second with 1,505. For influenza, this is an increase of 580 from the week before.

In contrast, emergency room visits for COVID-like illness dropped from 6% to 3.5%, the dashboard shows.

While the numbers show flu-like illness increasing dramatically, they’re only making up 4.8% of emergency room visits, compared to 13.8% this time last year.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will continue to monitor respiratory virus activity throughout the season with weekly updates on the dashboard.

The NCDHHS urges residents to take necessary precautions when sick and stay up-to-date on their vaccinations.

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For more information on the latest data on respiratory illnesses, visit the Respiratory Virus Dashboard at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard.