CHICAGO (CBS) — Norovirus is highly contagious It is spreading rapidly across the country, especially in the Chicago area, and hospitals are feeling the pressure due to this and other spreading viruses.
Local health systems are changing some of the precautions their patients take as they deal with the concurrent surges. In addition norovirusCommon winter respiratory illnesses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza are on the rise, as is the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Viral infection spikes are stressing health systems to the point that Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge had to stop accepting ambulances earlier this week.
Patient numbers at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital were so high on Tuesday of this week that for two hours, starting just after 7 p.m., the emergency room went into full bypass — no longer accepting ambulance patients.
“We want people to come to the emergency room when their health is at risk. Often times, people are in the most emergency situations,” said Dr. Rob Citronberg, executive medical director of infectious diseases and infection prevention at Advocate Healthcare. Life, the elderly and young, as well as the sick and chronically ill.
But Advocate isn't the only system seeing changes. Franciscan Health staff said their five hospitals in the south suburbs and northwest Indiana began visitor restrictions over the past few weeks.
“I personally don't remember seeing anything that was this bad, not in recent memory, at least,” said Dr. Erica Kaufman West, an infectious diseases physician at Franciscan Health in Dyer, Indiana.
Dr. Kaufman West said Franciscan is seeing a lot of norovirus cases.
Cook County Public Health Department data shows norovirus has risen to the highest level in more than two years.
“I dare say emergency departments across the region, and perhaps across the country, are very full right now,” Dr. Kaufman-West said.
To keep emergency rooms open, doctors who spoke with CBS News Chicago said anyone feeling sick should start by going to their primary care doctor. The UChicago Medicine AdventHealth clinic in western suburban Westchester is trying to keep people out of the emergency room.
“Doctors are seeing more patients if they're able to; they're trying to triage calls and make sure patients are coming to the clinic instead of the emergency room based on their needs,” said Dr. Damian Olegarsky, a primary care physician. at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth, which operates out of the Westchester clinic.
Doctors also stressed the need to take preventive precautions, especially focusing on hygiene. They pointed out that soap and water work to combat norovirus, while hand sanitizer does not.
“We've trained everyone to use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, which works for most things, but it doesn't work as well for norovirus,” Dr. Citronberg said.
So when will these mutations end?
Based on past experience, doctors said they expect the norovirus will start peaking very soon and disappear.
But flu, Covid and other respiratory illnesses could last until April.
