With providers bracing for the upcoming respiratory virus season, health officials are urging the public to get vaccinated and take other precautions to lessen the strain on hospitals.
The arrival of cooler weather and people gathering indoors can lead to the increased spread of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV), officials said Thursday. Oregon hospitals were overwhelmed in 2022 from a surge of RSV cases coupled with rises in COVID-19 and influenza.
Complicating the picture this year is a surge in measles and pertussis, known as whooping cough.
The elderly and infants are particularly at risk. RSV is the most common cause of hospitalizations in the U.S. for infants, said Dr. Melissa Sutton, the Oregon Health Authority’s medical director for respiratory viral pathogens.
“Every respiratory season, we see a dramatic increase in the number of hospitalizations and deaths caused by respiratory viruses, and we cannot always predict who will become severely ill,” she said.
Murky forecast
That there are no clear forecasts for how Oregon’s upcoming respiratory virus season will play out. For COVID-10, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are currently only able to produce short-term forecasts of up to six weeks, Sutton said. The virus is currently surging and another spike is expected for the fall and winter.
“Now exactly when those surges start and stop has varied pretty dramatically, as well as the intensity of those surges,” Sutton said. She added that areas that attract visitors are believed to play an outsized role in spreading COVID-19.
Public health officials normally look at influenza patterns in the southern hemisphere to get a sense of what the upcoming flu season might look like, but that’s been a challenge this year.
“We have a handful of countries who had quite severe influenza seasons, and then we have some countries that had really mild seasons,” Sutton said.
Another big unknown is RSV, because forecasts for the virus aren’t being done.
Burden of viruses
Oregon’s highest hospitalization rate for COVID-19 is for adults 65 years and older, with the second-highest occurring with infants under six months of age, according to Sutton. Additionally, about half of children hospitalized for COVID-19 have no underlying medical conditions.
Officials urged the public to get immunizations for each of the three viruses, keep good hand hygiene and cough etiquette in addition to staying home while sick.
Sutton said that RSV vaccines are recommended for people with underlying medical conditions who are 60 years and older and for all adults 75 years and older. To help infants, there is a vaccine for pregnant women and another for infants and high-risk children.
Measles and pertussis
The state has already seen a spike in two other diseases, according to Dr. Richard Bruno, Multnomah County Public Health Officer for Multnomah County.
There are currently 560 reported cases of pertussis in Oregon, higher than previous years, Bruno said. Whooping cough can begin with cold-like symptoms that develop into uncontrollable coughing and breathing problems for infants, he said. People who have coughs that do not improve should seek health care.
Additionally, 31 cases of measles have been reported this year, the highest total since 1991. Measles is a viral infection that causes cough, fever, runny nose and a rash all over the body. The cases have primarily been reported in Marion and Clackamas counties among unvaccinated people, one of whom required hospitalization.
“The good news is that the most recent measles case was confirmed in mid August, so we may be nearing the end of this outbreak,” Bruno said. “The not-so-good news is that school children in Oregon are below the 95% vaccination rate that's needed for herd immunity. So now that kids are back in school, we may see some additional measles cases.”
‘Deciding what is best for them’
Dr. Sarah Laiosa, public health officer for Malhuer and Harney counties, said vaccines can be administered to patients at their clinic, pharmacy or local health department.
“Unfortunately, there is an incredible amount of disinformation on vaccines in the world today, and it’s important that people seek information from a healthcare provider they trust before deciding what is best for them,” she said.
Laiosa encouraged rural residents to get vaccinated because accessing medical care can mean a three-hour drive. Oregon has one of the lowest per-person number of hospitals beds in the country so increases in respiratory diseases can slow care for others and put strain on the workforce, she added.
