Quartet of viruses overwhelm Calif. city EDs
February 2, 2025
Fresno EDs see an increase in visits due to respiratory viruses
FRESNO, Calif. — A quartet of illnesses is
“overwhelming and overloading” Fresno -area emergency rooms as
respiratory virus season reaches its peak in California, medical experts said.
“Community Health System is currently experiencing high patient numbers that are stretching our emergency department capacity at Clovis Community Medical Center as well as Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno,” the health care company said in a statement released on Monday, Jan 24.
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Medical professionals usually treat about 330 patients a day at Community Regional Medical Center, according to Dr. Thomas Utecht, an emergency medicine physician at the Fresno hospital.
Staff are currently seeing about 400 patients each day, Utecht said Monday, an increase of 17.5%.
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“There are basically four major viruses (that) ... are leading to a lot of the infections affecting Fresno -area residents,” Banh said.
According to Banh, three of those viruses are respiratory: COVID-19,
influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.
Locals are also dealing with
norovirus, he said.
Also known as the stomach flu, it’s a “very contagious” virus that causes acute gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach or intestines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
An increase in cases involving these viruses —
dubbed the “quad-demic” by medical experts — is responsible for the influx of patients in Fresno -area emergency rooms.
“It’s a mixture of everything coming in, and it’s overwhelming and overloading some of the emergency departments,” Banh said, leading to an increase in patient visits and “a lot of backlog for people being seen.”
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https://www.ems1.com/public-health/quartet-of-viruses-overwhelm-calif-city-eds
