RSV officially gone, occasional blips

RSV is pretty much gone from the State of California, as reflected by the NREVSS chart below. However, there persists a low background RSV presence in the community as detected by Sutter affiliates in the Sacramento Sierra region and depicted in the chart above. 

At this time we'll sign off for the season. 

Many thanks to Antoinette Raval-Ruiz, CLS, MT(ASCP), Ambulatory Laboratory Microbiology Supervisor, SMF Clinical Laboratory, for providing the data that power this blog. 

We'll see you in September!

J. Fernando Rosas, MD

Neonatology

Children's Specialists Medical Group of Sacramento

RSV season coming to an end in California

We have had two consecutive weeks of positive RSV samples that are less than 10% of those submitted, bringing the RSV season officially to a close in the Sacramento Sierra Region.

This is paralleled by the RSV detection in California as a whole depicted in the NREVSS chart below. 

RSV activity continues at low level in Sac Sierra Region

The RSV activity in the Sacramento Sierra Region Sutter affiliates was slightly above 10% over the week ending March 28. Meanwhile, California as a whole saw a dip to just below 10% positive of samples submitted, as reflected by the NREVSS chart below. At this time we continue to recommend general and specific measures for decreasing RSV infection, particularly for those at risk for severe lower respiratory tract disease in our region.

RSV activity decreasing in State and Sac Sierra region

We have seen a steady decline in RSV activity in the Sacramento Sierra region Sutter affiliates , with levels at just 10% for the last two weeks collected. Please note that our data is one week more recent than the NREVSS data for the State of California below. We might have seen the usual secondary peak on the week of March 7, or we may yet see a more defined secondary peak in RSV activity before the season ends for good this spring. Anecdotally, we are still seeing cases of bronchiolitis at the Sutter Memorial Hospital pediatric intensive care unit, unclear if caused by RSV. Stay tuned. 

RSV activity persists in California and the Sacramento Sierra region.

The RSV activity is persistent in California (NREVSS chart below) as a whole and in the Sacramento Sierra region (chart above). The Sutter affiliates saw a smaller number of samples submitted for testing but the percent positives remained same as the previous week. 

RSV activity steady in State, lower in Sac Sierra

The RSV activity in the State of California reached a peak and had a small decrease that remained steady over the last two reported weeks. In the Sac Sierra region the Sutter affiliates detected a decline in activity over the last two weeks. Please note that our data (chart above) is slightly more recent than the NREVSS data in the chart below. It is not unusual to see a decline in RSV activity this time of the year only to see a small secondary peak in March or April. We continue to encourage general and specific prevention measures for those individuals at risk for severe RSV disease.

Steady RSV activity in the state of California and in the Sacramento/Sierra region

The RSV activity has remained in the 30-35% positive range for samples submitted over the last 2-3 weeks in the State as a whole and the Sac Sierra region. the data are reflected on the NREVSS graph directly above and the chart of data from Sutter affiliates.

We thank Ms. Antoinette Raval-Ruiz, CLS, MT (ASCP), Ambulatory Laboratory Microbiology Supervisor, SMF Clinical Laboratory, for the ongoing data supply. 

RSV season in full swing in California

The chart above reflects RSV activity documented by testing at Sutter affiliates in the Sacramento Sierra Region. 

The number of RSV cases in California has increased steadily and appears to show a plateau on the first week of January. We'll keep an eye out for secondary peaks in RSV activity during the remainder of the season. Below is data from the CDC's National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS)