As we enter into another flu season, it’s time to stock up on vitamin C and wash our hands more thoroughly.

But this year, there may be a little more cause for caution: experts warn there’s a significant uptick in the flu virus across the country. 

According to the Hospital Health System of Pennsylvania, emergency room visits with a flu diagnosis are very high, while RSV and COVID are increasing rapidly. 

“The numbers are so high, the reports that we see,” Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio said. “We collaborate with the networks, you know nursing facilities, the hospitals.”

That’s why the Coroner’s Office is performing a postmortem nasal swab for in-home deaths that the office is investigating to be tested for flu, COVID-19 and RSV.

“We’ll go in a house,” Buglio said. “We had a case where a decedent had a lot of tissues and cold medicine around them in a garbage can. So we’ll look at that and we’ll test for those reasons.”

Buglio says whether an illness is suspected or the person died of natural causes, his office will investigate.

“And it’s at any age,” he said. “You know we’ve had a 74 year old, 52 year old.”

The office hopes to contribute data to the health department.

“Currently we actually have three pending swabs out now,” Buglio said.

Make that two: while 69 News was visiting the office, the first positive result came back, for influenza A.

Experts say a variant of influenza A known as the “subclade K” strain could be one reason flu season is looking worse this year, as it has mutated to more likely evade immunity from the current vaccine.The coroner says he hopes the tests will provide more insight into the season.

“I think if we put out there,” Buglio said, “‘listen we swabbed 30 decedents this month and 15 of them had the flu or some respiratory illness.’ We want to put that out there and let people be aware.”

Buglio also hopes the closure will lighten the weight for grieving loved ones.

“Because sometimes they have frustration when we talk to them,” he said. “You know their loved one did not go to the doctor, did not call an ambulance, maybe to go to the hospital and get checked out. And now we can give them closure.”