Here’s our weekly round-up of what illnesses are spreading the most in Metro Detroit communities, according to our local doctors and hospitals.
Local doctors share their notes on What’s Going Around:
Wayne County: Strep throat, stomach viruses, respiratory viruses, Covid, asthma flare-ups, pink eye
Dr. Jen Stevenson -- Emergency Department, Henry Ford Medical Center Dearborn
“This week in Dearborn, COVID numbers are better than they had been but it’s certainly still in the community! We’ve seen a lot of strep throat in our pediatric population, and there continues to be a ton of stomach and respiratory viral infections. I’m hopeful that the communicable infection rates will continue to decrease as the weather improves, and people spend more time outdoors. I also expect that there will be an uptick in allergy symptoms, and likely asthma exacerbations, as flowers and trees start to bud and bloom. Those who have seasonal allergies or asthma should be aware and make sure they have the antihistamines and rescue inhalers they require.”
Dr. Kevin Dazy -- Pediatrician at Childrens Hospital of Michigan
“Still seeing some GI viruses (vom/diarrhea), viral colds, some asthma flaring up.”
Carter Doyle -- RN Nursing educator, Emergency Center, Corewell Health’s Beaumont Hospital, Taylor
“We have been seeing more cases of strep throat, especially in kids. Symptoms include sore, painful throat, fever and bad breath. Strep can be treated with a short course of antibiotics. Risks associated with non-treatment include a rare complication known as rheumatic fever, which can be very serious. The good news is that urgent cares, pediatricians, and primary care providers are all able to diagnose and treat strep. We are also seeing more cases of the sexually transmitted infection syphilis. The first symptom of syphilis can be a painless, round, and firm sore on the gentiles or mouth known as a “chancre” sore. It may go away after 3-6 weeks, but even if it does go away, the infection will only get worse over time. We recommend using protection, and avoiding sex with individuals who could be infected. If you think you might be infected, free screenings are available at the health department. Syphilis, which is treated with antibiotics, can typically be handled with a single injection. It’s important to note that syphilis will not get better on its own, can infect various organs of the body, including the brain, and become life threatening.”
Oakland County: Strep throat, viral rashes, upper respiratory viruses, spring allergies and asthma
Dr. Michael Rozwadowski -- Internal medicine doctor, Beaumont Primary Care - Rochester Hills, affiliated with Corewell Health’s Beaumont Hospital, Troy
“While our numbers of COVID-19 and influenza infections are decreasing, we are seeing a lot of viral upper respiratory infections in our office. These sometimes lead to bronchitis, asthma/COPD exacerbations, or even pneumonia. Due to the pandemic, I also frequently see patients that are multiple years overdue for important screening tests such as colonoscopy, mammogram, pap smear and bone scans. Depressive and anxiety disorders are also very common, and I would strongly recommend anybody struggling with these to talk to their primary care provider as it can sometimes be very difficult to get an appointment with a psychiatrist or therapist.”
Dr. Justin Skrzynski -- Hospital medicine specialist, Corewell Health’s Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak
“We still have a small slice of respiratory illnesses going around. COVID is actually much, much better. A lot of the cases of patients hospitalized with COVID are either incidental to another health issue, or patients who have had a transplant or have co-morbidities. But COVID is definitely still out there. The strains are less severe but highly contagious. While we don’t have to fixate on it with the urgency we did before, it’s something we still need to pay attention to.
A lot of the issues we’re treating right now in the hospital are chronic, irreversible illnesses, like heart failure, coronary artery disease and kidney disease. We’re seeing large parts of the hospitals caring for patients with repeated flares of these issues. And people can become locked into these cycles of hospitalization. Unfortunately, these things progress to where they’re irreversible, and you get to the point where nothing can fix it. The best approach is prevention. People have a hand in preventing these things, just by things they do themselves. It’s diet and activity: those are the two pillars of health. Those are the two things we have the most control over. The bulk of somebody’s health is up to them.”
Dr. Rena Daiza -- Primary Care Physician, Henry Ford Medical Center Bloomfield Twp.
“With the change in weather and Spring finally upon us, I have been seeing a lot of asthma and allergy flares. It’s important for people to remember that some symptoms can overlap with upper respiratory virus symptoms like COVID. Be sure to continue testing for viruses especially if usual remedies for allergies/asthma are not working.”
Emergency Department -- Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital
“We have had a lot of falls, kidney stones and abdominal pain this week.”
Washtenaw County: Stomach viruses, respiratory viruses, human metapneumovirus, COVID
Dr. Marisa Louie -- Medical Director of Children’s Emergency Services at Michigan Medicine
“We are seeing a little bump in bronchiolitis, which is often caused by RSV, but this little influx is non-RSV related. We continue to see quite a bit of infectious GI illnesses. We saw some carbon monoxide poisonings/exposures this past week. We have also been seeing a larger number of patients with mental health concerns, anywhere from suicide attempts, severe eating disorders that require admission to aggressive/violent behaviors in the context of underlying behavioral health problems.”
Dr. Brad Uren -- Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Michigan Medicine
“We are still seeing COVID and non-COVID URIs with regularity. There were lots of slips and falls during the icing this week as well. Less GI illness than last week but still seeing some.”
WASHTENAW COUNTY – Stomach viruses, respiratory viruses, human metapneumovirus, COVID
Dr. Marisa Louie -- Medical Director of Children’s Emergency Services, Michigan Medicine
“We seem to have picked up again in GI infections, and still seeing a good number of respiratory viral infections. Human metapneumovirus, which is a cousin to RSV, is causing a lot of infections and some admissions.”
Dr. Brad Uren -- Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Michigan Medicine
“Still seeing COVID with stubborn regularity. A few other URIs. Less GI than a few weeks ago but still seeing some.”
MONROE COUNTY – COVID, respiratory illnesses, strep throat
MACOMB COUNTY – Upper respiratory infections, stomach viruses, spring allergies & asthma, strep throat, colds, COVID
Dr. Ali Saad -- Emergency physician, McLaren Macomb
“After a lull, cases of upper respiratory infections, especially in young children, have noticeably increased with symptoms of cough, fever and congestion. Also affecting mostly children, gastroenteritis and symptoms of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea is trending up. While it’s still very early in the season, cases of allergy and asthma complications are presenting in the ED. There has been an increase in household activities, resulting in a rise in injuries following minor accidents.”
LIVINGSTON COUNTY – Gastrointestinal illnesses, strep throat, spring allergies and asthma