“I think it’s probably a harbinger of what’s to come just knowing that there’s such high activity occurring in the Lower 48 right now,” said Alaska state epidemiologist Joe McLaughlin.
A student wears a mask at Camp Adgayux̂ in Unalaska in 2021. In the fall of 2022 Alaska health officials tracked a modest increase in some respiratory viruses, including RSV which can have more severe effects on children.
“It’s not as abrupt as what we’re seeing in the Lower 48,” he said. “But we expect that the rates will continue to increase pretty steadily here in Alaska.” “I think it’s probably a harbinger of what’s to come just knowing that there’s such high activity occurring in the Lower 48 right now,” he said. He said, so far, there have been more RSV cases reported in adults than in young children, which concerns state officials due to its deadlier effects among the elderly. The virus is also more easily transmitted between adults and kids, because large droplets coughed or exhaled by infected people can contaminate surfaces.Symptoms of RSV include runny nose, coughing, sneezing, fever and loss of appetite. Infants may seem irritable, said McLaughlin.
Some 105 cases of flu have been reported by labs across the state since September, according to McLaughlin. The state’s latest weekly flu snapshot shows increased flu activity in Anchorage, Juneau and Northwest Alaska, reflecting what it lists as “low levels of activity, but more than we’ve seen in recent seasons at this time.”
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