Respiratory illnesses spiking in Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) -Flu, RSV, and COVID-19 cases in Colorado have been rising over the weeks. The El Paso County Public Heath Department said all three viruses are creating a burden.

The health department says there are 49 confirmed RSV outbreaks in schools and child care settings across the county and more than 66 flu hospitalizations to date. The state health department said the uptick in flu has outpaced pre-pandemic levels.

“If you look at the trajectory so far, in the last month we really started seeing the uptick in cases and how quickly it went up. It’s higher than anything we’ve seen even pre-pandemic,” said Dr. Michelle Barron, Senior Medical Director of Infection Prevention at UCHealth.

This flu spike comes as health care workers are still dealing with the early surge of RSV cases in children this fall, though they said numbers are starting to come down slightly.

“I would say that the RSV associated hospitalization numbers are still quite high though and certainly continuing to put a strain on our healthcare system especially our pediatric healthcare system,” said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state’s epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Children’s Hospital Colorado tells KKTV 11News they saw a dip in all three illnesses on Thanksgiving day, but saw a rebound over the weekend. Doctors add they hope that because these illnesses spread earlier in the year, they will also slow down earlier as well.

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