Respiratory illness on rise in Kansas

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Respiratory illnesses have been on the rise since the end of September.

Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Deputy Communications Director Philip Harris shared statistics on respiratory illness in Kansas in 2023. As of Dec. 10, 17.6% of emergency department visits were for acute respiratory illness.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has been on the rise; patients younger than 13 years old made up 4.1% of all RSV-related emergency department visits. As of Dec. 10, 0.8% of all emergency department visits were RSV-related.

COVID-19 visits have also been on the rise, now making up 2.7% of visits. Flu admissions have also seen a significant increase since the beginning of November.

"We, Kansas Department of Health and Environment, no longer receive reports of every person with a positive COVID-19 test," Harris said. "Additionally, influenza and other respiratory diseases are not reportable to KDHE either. We rely on monitoring emergency department data to see if there is an increase in these respiratory conditions."

The KDHE tracks respiratory-related emergency department visits through its Kansas Syndromic Surveillance Program which tracks 126 of the 138 emergency departments in the state. The data on respiratory-related visits was last updated on Dec. 20 and can be viewed here.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following preventative measures during the RSV season:

• Wash your hands often.
• Avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.
• Avoid contact with sick people.
• Cover your coughs and sneezes.
• Clean frequently touched surfaces.
• Stay home if you're sick.

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