(Undated) — Flu season is picking up after a slow start this winter. Data from the CDC found that positive tests went up by 12-percent for the week ending December 21st, compared to the week before. Over 12-thousand people were hospitalized from the virus. Flu activity typically starts to pick up around Halloween but this year, activity just started picking up in recent weeks.
Outbreaks of norovirus have been reported nationwide and the CDC reported twice the amount of cases compared to past years. Norovirus is known widely as the stomach flu and is the main cause of diarrhea and vomiting from inflammation of the stomach, intestines or gastroenteritis, according to the CDC. The week of December 5th the CDC reported just over 90 cases of norovirus — more than double the highest number reported between 2021 and 2024. The virus is also the top contributor of foodborne illness in the U.S. and causes 58-percent of acquired illnesses.
