Coronavirus
COVID, RSV, and flu all in the mix for seasonal illnesses, say Mayo experts
There’s more to worry about than just COVID this winter. The flu could make many people sick as well, and RSV is spreading in the U.S. as well.
Mayo Health System doctors and nurses are preparing to see a mix of those respiratory diseases.
Dr. Raj Palraj, an infectious disease specialist with Mayo in La Crosse, says people may be easing up on their precautions after two winters fighting COVID.
“Patients are more prone to viruses during the winter season, and there is also relaxation in the use of masks in the public setting,” Palraj says, “and people are gathering more indoors.”
Mayo specialists in infectious disease and family medicine are urging people to watch for symptoms to determine if they should come to a clinic. Registered nurse Nicole Sprague at the Onalaska clinic is seeing a pattern.
“I would definitely say (among) more adolescents, pediatric patients, cough, fever, muscle ache, sore throat have been the most common symptoms that we’ve been having patients present with,” said Sprague.
