ATLANTA — As people prepare to spend the holidays with family and friends, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it's seeing an uptick in respiratory viruses. That includes RSV and the high level of flu activity.
As the temperature goes down, the number of those respiratory virus infections goes up.
So, how do you differentiate the three? All are highly contagious respiratory infections caused by different viruses. The symptoms are similar and may include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
Health officials say with the flu, you’re more likely going to have a fever. With RSV, you may be wheezing, and COVID-19 symptoms lean more towards difficulty breathing, fatigue, sore throat, and sometimes loss of smell.
COVID-19 cases are slowly rising in Georgia, according to Dr. Jayne Morgan, who attributes this rise, in part, to Thanksgiving gatherings.
"If you start to feel sick and you test negative, remember we have a confluence of three viruses circulating, so you’re negative just for that one," she explained. "It doesn’t mean that you don’t have the flu, which can be contagious, and you can spread it in the family gathering."
Dr. Morgan said it’s best to check with your doctor, and if you test positive for one of the three viruses, she has some advice.
"If you are sick at the time that you’re actually watching this, we are so close now to the actual holiday Christmas Eve festivities and Christmas Day, you probably should stay away. The only caveat would be if your function happens to be outdoors and you can mask when you’re outdoors, then certainly perhaps you can come and keep a distance from people," she suggested.
Dr. Morgan said COVID-19 is still to blame for most hospitalizations and deaths in Georgia. As people gather for the late December holidays, she believes another COVID-19 spike is on the horizon and suggests people get vaccinated.
“The new, updated vaccine for COVID also covers all of the current variants, including the one that we see gaining prominence right now, the JN.1 variant," she said. "This is only a single mutation and yet it seems to be overtaking its sisters and brothers and cousins."