Erie County's flu season hit a record. How many cases did local hospitals see?
Another long, record-breaking flu season has ended, at least unofficially, in Erie County.
Only 10 flu cases were reported in the county from May 4-17, the fewest in a two-week span since early November, according to the Erie County Department of Health. While sporadic cases may be found well into summer, flu season appears to be finished until fall or early winter.
"We do seem to be seeing longer flu seasons, and perhaps that is due to having more type B flu," said Dr. Martin Van Dort, an infectious diseases specialist at Saint Vincent Hospital. "We saw type B throughout the season, not just toward the end. I'm not sure that's why the season was so long. We'll know for sure once the season is officially over and the data is marked up."
Erie County set a record with 5,182 reported flu cases, and counting, for the 2023-24 season. It's the second straight season, and fourth time in the past seven seasons, that the county broke its own record.
Here is a look at the county's highest annual flu case totals since flu became a reportable disease in 2003:
2023-24 — 5,182 (through May 17)
2022-23 — 4,661
2019-20 — 4,449
2017-18 — 3,859
2018-19 — 2,403
Flu cases not as severe as previous seasons
Despite the high number of cases, doctors agreed that this flu season was not severe and the data supports their claim. Only 3% of the county's reported flu cases (155 total) required hospitalization, which is lower than the usual rate of around 5%.
Fewer than five deaths of county residents due to flu complications have been reported this season; the County Health Department no longer reports exact case totals when it is fewer than five, due to patient privacy laws.
The county's mortality rate for flu is usually between 0.1%-0.3%, which would be between five and 15 deaths for the 2023-24 season.
"We saw a lot of relatively mild cases, with few people needing to be admitted to the hospital," said Dr. Luke Nientimp, an internal medicine physician with UPMC Hamot's Greenfield Internal Medicine. "We saw a lot of patients in the outpatient office, especially in the fall when we also had COVID and RSV."
This milder flu could also be attributed to the number of type B cases reported. About one-third of the county's cases have been type B, which usually causes less severe symptoms.
RSV season also ending after long peak during the winter
The county's number of RSV cases has also dropped significantly in recent weeks after peaking over the winter. The county didn't set a record like it did for flu cases but it came close, with 2,236 cases, which trails only the 2,555 RSV cases reported in the 2022-23 season.
Regarded for years as a threat mostly to newborns, doctors are finding that older adults also can develop serious complications from the cold-like illness. A total of 81 county residents were hospitalized with RSV and five of them died due to complications.
"RSV was a little more severe than flu this season," Nientimp said. "We admitted more patients with RSV to the hospital than we did for flu."
Another reason for the higher case counts could be increased testing. Patients often undergo a single swab test for COVID-19, RSV and flu when they arrive at an emergency room or physician's office with respiratory symptoms.
"We are certainly more proactive in testing for these viruses," Van Dort said. "With these tests, more doctors have become aware of RSV as a cause of respiratory illnesses in adults. While some still consider it just a common cold virus, RSV can be serious for older people with underlying issues like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."
The official end for both flu and RSV seasons is Sept. 30 of each year.
Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNBruce.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Flu season finally ends in Erie County PA after setting another record
