By Dakota Antelman [email protected]
Flu season is hitting Concord hard this year, with more than double the cases in January than officials recorded one year before.
Concord’s January 2025 case count was 72, up from 29 in January 2024, according to public health nurse Moira Carter. The jump tracks with a potent flu season across Massachusetts and the country.
In an interview with The Concord Bridge, Carter said this year’s data “isn’t necessarily surprising.” As officials respond, she urged residents to practice common prevention measures.
“Sometimes you can just have a bad flu year, and that tends to happen every couple of years,” Carter said.
Carter is urging people to get vaccinated, even if they already got sick this season. Multiple flu strains are circulating, she said, “and that vaccine could offer you some protection.”
The Health Department held joint vaccination clinics against the flu and Covid in the fall and distributed disease prevention information. Officials have continued their efforts in recent months, reminding residents to wash their hands, avoid close contact with sick people, and stay home when sick, among other measures.
State data shows Massachusetts has remained at a “very high” level of flu activity since the week of January 12.
Carter said flu season can last as late as May. This year, she said, the local case rate has stayed high into February. With peaks happening at different times each season, she said, it’s hard to tell when the threat will wane.
Norovirus uncertainty
Covid cases are down in Concord compared with early 2024. The outlook is more uncertain on norovirus, which has surged, by some metrics.
Also known as the “stomach bug,” norovirus symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea. Carter said the illness is “tricky” for public health workers, because many people who get infected don’t get tested. Carter said she believes cases are underrepresented and pointed to norovirus as another reason for regular handwashing.
Even hand sanitizer, Carter said, does not work as well against norovirus as handwashing does.
Bird flu
Alongside other public health fears, experts have their eye on a strain of bird flu known as H5N1.
Massachusetts officials said H5N1 may be the cause of several bird deaths in Plymouth last month and said birds tested positive elsewhere in the state.
Authorities urged people to stay away from sick or dead wildlife and to report suspected cases. H5N1 rarely infects humans, though, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently listed two other strains — a form of H1N1 and a form of H3N2 — as the predominant strains in the US.
Carter said health officials were not aware of any H5N1 cases among animals in Concord as of February 14.
