Health
Has a ‘quademic’ hit the US? 4 viral infections and what to know about them
Four viruses are circulating in the U.S., sparking concerns of a possible “quademic.”
Influenza, COVID-19, RSV and norovirus are all at “very high levels” around the country, according to Samuel Scarpino, director of AI and life sciences and professor of health sciences at Northeastern University in Boston.
“We are in the middle of a very serious situation with respect to circulating pathogens,” he told Fox News Digital.
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“Based on data from our national wastewater surveillance system, some parts of the country, such as Boston, seem to be entering the peak for all four diseases, but in other areas, cases are still rising,” Scarpino added.
There are vaccines currently available for COVID, flu and RSV, but not for norovirus — although there is an mRNA vaccine in development, one expert pointed out. (iStock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, noted that it is currently peak respiratory virus season.
“It is not a ‘quad-demic,’ per se, just a lot of respiratory viruses and bacteria at once,” he said to Fox News Digital.
On top of the four viruses, Siegel warned of some bacterial outbreaks that can cause respiratory illness, such as mycoplasma, pertussis and strep.
Viruses by the numbers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported an 18.8% positivity rate for flu tests for the week ending Jan. 11, stating that “seasonal influenza activity remains elevated across most of the country.”
There were also 11 pediatric deaths related to influenza, bringing the total to 27 deaths this season, the agency stated.
“We are in the middle of a very serious situation with respect to circulating pathogens.”
COVID-19 was at a 6.6% test positivity as of Jan. 11, with 1.3% of emergency room visits resulting in a diagnosis and 1.8% of all deaths linked to the virus, per CDC data.
RSV (respiratory syncytial virus, which is a highly contagious virus that infects the lungs, nose and throat) has a test positivity of 8.9%.
With the onset of these common seasonal viruses, one doctor said it’s important for patients to have a “great relationship” with a primary care physician. (iStock)
Cases of norovirus, more commonly known as the stomach bug, are also surging.
Between August 1 and Dec. 11, 2024, there were 495 norovirus outbreaks reported in the U.S., compared to 363 in the same time period last year, according to the CDC.
Differentiating between viruses
Kenneth Perry, MD, an emergency physician in South Carolina, said his hospital has recently seen an uptick in emergency department visits tied to these infections.
“From cough to nasal congestion and even fever, it is difficult to differentiate between the discrete viruses,” he told Fox News Digital. “For most people, knowing which virus they have is purely an academic discussion. For some patients, however, the specific virus is very important.”
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The possibility of someone having all four viruses at once is very low, Perry said — “but it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility for people to have two or even three at the same time.”
Siegel agreed that with multiple viruses circulating, it can be a challenge for practicing internists and infectious disease specialists to tell the difference.
“It is not a ‘quad-demic,’ per se, just a lot of respiratory viruses and bacteria at once,” Dr. Marc Siegel said to Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“Respiratory panels at hospitals, urgent care centers and labs can be helpful to distinguish between them,” he said.
There are combined rapid tests available that simultaneously screen for two types of influenza and COVID, Scarpino pointed out.
Potential risk factors
“Of the four viruses in widespread circulation, all post a unique risk of severe illness in the elderly,” Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, a San Francisco biotechnology company, told Fox News Digital.
RSV poses unique risks for infants, experts agree.
“Of the four viruses in widespread circulation, all post a unique risk of severe illness in the elderly.”
“For young infants, breathing through their nose is imperative in order to eat, and RSV can cause severe amounts of nasal congestion,” Perry warned. This congestion can disrupt babies’ ability to consume enough calories, he added.
For norovirus, dehydration can become a “major problem,” according to Perry.
“Again, young infants who cannot have water or sports drinks to help maintain hydration can be most susceptible.”
There are combined rapid tests available that simultaneously screen for two types of influenza and COVID. (iStock)
Long COVID is a “significant concern” for most adults, according to Glanville, “as the chronic disorder is yet to be fully understood and effective treatments have yet to be developed.”
Scarpino noted that influenza has historically been a leading cause of death in the U.S.
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“Despite us being more used to worrying about COVID these days, it’s important to take the flu very seriously,” he added.
People with underlying risk factors are at a higher risk of severe illness for all four viruses, Scarpino added.
Prevention and treatment
To prevent these four circulating viruses, Glanville recommends getting vaccinated when available, avoiding contact with those who are infected, and following proper sanitation practices.
“The best thing you can do to keep from getting any of these viruses is to keep your hands clean,” Perry advised. “Washing hands especially after touching public surfaces is going to be the best way to keep from getting any of these viruses.”
“The best thing you can do to keep from getting any of these viruses is to keep your hands clean,” an emergency room physician advised. (iStock)
There are vaccines currently available for COVID, flu and RSV, but not for norovirus — although there is an mRNA vaccine in development, Scarpino pointed out.
“Even in places where cases have started falling, we’re far from being out of the woods, so there’s still time to get vaccinated,” he said.
For those who contract any of the viruses, Siegel recommends focusing on hydration, getting plenty of rest and carefully monitoring symptoms.
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People who are sick should stay home, avoid interacting directly with others and wear masks in close quarters, the doctor advised.
Perry pointed out that flu and COVID are “cyclical” in their level of severity.
“The best thing you can do to keep from getting any of these viruses is to keep your hands clean.”
“There are years when the flu virus is very mild, and others when it is more virulent,” he told Fox News Digital. “The same goes for COVID, as we saw with the different variants that were present throughout the pandemic.”
With the onset of these common seasonal viruses, Perry said it’s important for patients to have a “great relationship” with a primary care physician.
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“This way, their risk category is well-known to their doctor and they can easily get the correct care for their health, even if they get one of these viruses.”
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Eating too much salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but new research suggests it could trick the immune system into prematurely aging the blood vessels.
A preclinical study recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has identified a biological chain reaction that links a salty diet to cardiovascular decay.
Scientists at the University of South Alabama observed that mice on a high-salt diet experienced rapid deterioration in their blood vessel function.
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After just four weeks of high sodium intake, the small arteries responsible for regulating blood flow lost their ability to relax, according to a press release.
The team found that the cells lining these vessels had entered a state of cellular senescence, a form of premature cellular aging in which cells stop dividing and release a mix of inflammatory signals that can damage surrounding tissue.
Excess salt has long been linked to high blood pressure, but a new study goes deeper into its effects on the cardiovascular system. (iStock)
The researchers tried to replicate this damage by exposing blood vessel cells directly to salt in a laboratory dish, but the cells showed no harmful effects.
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This suggests that salt isn’t directly causing damage to the vascular lining but that the real culprit may be the body’s own defense mechanism, the researchers noted.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16 (IL-16), which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system to release a molecule called interleukin-16, which acts as a messenger that instructs blood vessel cells to grow old before their time, according to the study. (iStock)
Once these cells age, they fail to produce nitric oxide, the essential gas that tells arteries to dilate and stay flexible.
To test whether this process could be reversed, the team turned to a class of experimental drugs known as senolytics.
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Using a cancer medication called navitoclax, which selectively clears out aged and dysfunctional cells, the researchers were able to restore nearly normal blood vessel function in the salt-fed mice, the release stated.
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By removing the decaying cells created by the high-salt diet, the drug allowed the remaining healthy tissue to maintain its elasticity and respond correctly to blood flow demands.
Excess salt may trigger the immune system into stopping the cells from dividing, the study suggests. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations. The transition from mouse models to human treatment remains a significant hurdle, the team cautioned.
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Senolytic drugs like navitoclax are still being studied for safety, and the team emphasized that previous trials have shown mixed results regarding their impact on artery plaque.
Additionally, the researchers have not yet confirmed whether the same IL-16 pathway is the primary driver of vascular aging in humans.
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Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests.
The observational study, led by Jorge Nieva, M.D., of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at Keck Medicine, was presented this month at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in San Diego. It has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers looked at dietary, smoking and demographic data for 187 patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer at age 50 or younger.
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They found that among non-smokers, there was a link between healthier-than-average diets – rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and the chance of lung cancer development.
Young lung cancer patients ate more servings of dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains compared to the average U.S. adult, the researchers found.
Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables was found to have a surprising link to lung cancer among younger non-smokers, early research suggests. (iStock)
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association.
“Commercially produced (non-organic) fruits, vegetables and whole grains are more likely to be associated with a higher residue of pesticides than dairy, meat and many processed foods,” according to Nieva. He also noted that agricultural workers exposed to pesticides tend to have higher rates of lung cancer.
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“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” Nieva told Fox News Digital.
The disease is becoming more common in non-smokers 50 and younger, especially women – despite the fact that smoking rates have been falling for decades, the researcher noted.
The researchers hypothesized that pesticides applied to conventionally grown produce could be a possible factor in the disease association. (iStock)
“These patients tend to have eaten much healthier diets before their diagnosis than the average American,” he went on. “We need to support research into understanding why Americans – and women in particular – who no longer smoke very much are still having lung cancer,” he said.
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The study did have some limitations, Nieva acknowledged, primarily that it relied on survey data and was limited by the participants’ memories of their food intake.
“Also, the survey participants were self-selected, and this could have biased the findings,” he told Fox News Digital.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking.”
The researchers did not test specific foods for pesticides, relying instead on average pesticide levels for certain types of food. Looking ahead, they plan to test patients’ blood and urine samples to directly measure pesticide levels, Nieva said.
Although the study shows only an association and does not prove that pesticides caused lung cancer, Nieva recommends that people wash their produce before eating and choose organic foods whenever possible.
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“This work represents a critical step toward identifying modifiable environmental factors that may contribute to lung cancer in young adults,” said Nieva. “Our hope is that these insights can guide both public health recommendations and future investigation into lung cancer prevention.”
“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but is by no means certain,” a doctor said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said the study is “interesting,” but that it “raises far more questions than it answers.”
“It is a small study (around 150) and observational, so no proof,” the doctor, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
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“It is possible that the increased lung cancer risk could be due to pesticide exposure in whole farmed foods, but it is by no means certain,” Siegel went on. “How much exposure is needed? How much of it gets into food and in which areas? This requires much further study.”
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Kayla Nichols, communications director for Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network, a distributed global network, said the organization agrees with the study’s conclusion that more research should be done on the rise in lung cancer, particularly in individuals eating diets higher in produce and fiber.
“There is a large subset of lung cancer patients whose disease is not caused by smoking,” the researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“There is a bounty of existing research that already links pesticide exposure to increased risk of multiple types of cancers,” Nichols, who was also not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. She called for more research on chronic, low-level exposures to pesticides, as well as more effective policies to protect the public from pesticide residues on food.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, as well as industry partners including AstraZeneca and Genentech, among others.
Fox News Digital reached out to several pesticide companies and trade groups for comment.
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