FAIRFAX, VA \u2014 Respiratory illness activity in the Fairfax County Health District has increased to its highest level since February, according to the latest data from the Virginia Department of Health.<\/p>\n
For the week starting Dec. 21, acute respiratory infections accounted for 39.11 percent of emergency room visits in Fairfax County, according to the respiratory illness dashboard<\/a>. That’s the highest percentage of visits due to respiratory infections since Feb. 2, when respiratory infections accounted for 39.36 percent of emergency room visits. <\/p>\n Virginia emergency rooms typically see an increase in COVID-19, influenza and RSV rates during the holidays. This year\u2019s flu season is expected to be more serious due to a new Influenza H3N2 mutation known as \u201csubclade K,\u201d which is spreading in North America, including the United States.<\/p>\n Fairfax County health officials recommend getting vaccinated, washing your hands often, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home if you’re sick in order to protect yourself and others from sickness. <\/p>\n Although the current flu vaccine offers protection against the H3N2 strain, it doesn\u2019t cover subclade K, which hadn\u2019t been identified when the vaccine was developed. The variant has mutated seven times<\/a>, making H3N2 an even more serious threat, according to experts.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing that there\u2019s a new mutated strain out there and H3N2 generally causes more severe disease is concerning,\u201d Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr., medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told NBC\u2019s \u201cToday<\/a>\u201d show.<\/p>\n